Quieir  l3islr-^:JtS> 

on  PersonalProhlems 


S.D,  Gordon 


?^- 

$-* 

• 

<r^ 

^ 

g 

^-0 

^ 

>* 

•* 

-p 

4^ 

1 

"S 

O 

1-3 

JH 

1—^ 

• 

^ 

^ 

w 

O 

o 

$ 

Q 

Ph 

tH    o 

^ 

• 

$ 

55 
1^ 

• 

r_1 

1    m 

^ 

o 

en 

-P 

o  m  <D 
a>  00  a 

^ 

PLH 

(D 

.Q 

'^     •  o 

CD 

t-T-t 

^  Q 

1-^ 

.  CO  .H    W 

§ 

CO  e 

^ 

rH      -^-J    <D 

.i::^ 

O    C          rH 

in  O  -P  4:1 

^  TJ    <D    0 

J^    H    ^ 

>    0    13    a 

pQ  0  a 

Quiet  Talks  on 
Personal  Problems. 


QUIET  TALKS 
ON  PERSONAL 
PROBLEMS 


BY 

X 

s. 

D. 

GORDON 

Author  of 

**  Quiet  Talks  about  Jesus/*        1 

Quiet 

Talks  on 

** Power,"  ** Prayer" 

and 

"Service." 

NEW  YORK 

A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    &  SON 

3  &  5  West  l8tli  Street,  near  s^^  Avenue 
1907 


Copyright,    1907,  by 
A.   C.   ARMSTRONG  &  SON 

Published,  March,    1907 

Entered  at  Stationer'' s  Hal/,  London 
\All  rights  reserved] 


Printed  by  the  Publishers  Printin*  Co.,  New  York,  U.  3.  A, 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

A  Bit  Ahead 7 

The  Problem  oi  Sin 9 

The  Problem  of  Doubt 41 

The  Problem  of  Ambition,  or  what  is  best  worth  while. .     77 

The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery 97 

The  Problem  of  Pain 125 

The  Problem  of  Guidance 151 

The  Problem  of  the  Church 183 

The  Problem  of  Questioned  Things 205 


A  BIT  AHEAD 


Life  is  a  school.  There  are  hard  sums  to  do; 
new  words  to  learn,  and  new  meanings  of  words; 
knotty  problems  to  tug  at  and  solve,  solve  partly 
and  then  a  little  more.  Knowing  some  gives 
zest  for  more;  and  always  there  is  more,  and 
never  an  end.     Dear  Doctor  Babcock  sang, 

"  Some  day  the  bell  will  sound, 
'Some  day  my  heart  will  bound, 
As,  with  a  shout 
That  school  is  out 
And  lessons  done, 
I  homeward  rim." 

Yet  the  day  he  thought  of,  while  it  brought  rare 
.delight  in  knowing  and  resting,  was  simply  his 
entering  upon  an  after-course  in  the  Teacher's 
own  room. 

These  talks  are  about  some  of  the  problems  of 
life.  They  touch  only  personal  problems,  and 
only  a  few  of  them,  and  only  some  parts  of  these. 
They  touch  only  problems  and  the  phases  of 
them  that  have  come  up  in  my  own  schoolroom 
work.  That  has  seemed  best.  The  men  who 
have  helped  me  most  have  been  those  who  let 
me  draw  near,  and  peer  in,  and  see  something  of 
their  own  struggles  and  victories,  the  moist  brow 
7 


8  A  Bit  Ahead 

as  they  tugged,  the  hard  breathing  under  stress, 
and  the  glory-light  that  came  afterwards.  All 
truth  must  go  through  the  testing  fire  of  one's 
own  experience  before  it  catches  fire  in  others. 

I  am  still  working  at  these  problems;  still  in 
the  laboratory.  At  times  a  wondrous  quiet  light 
steals  in  to  make  it  clear  where  it  was  dark  and 
bothersome.  Always  there  is  a  sense  of  the 
great  Teacher's  presence,  and  the  restful  thought 
that  He  knows  by  contact  with  things  down 
here.  That  light  gives  great  joy,  and  that 
presence  great  peace. 


THE   PROBLEM   OF  SIN 


The  Law  of  Sin. 

Six  Sides  of  Sin. 

Seven  Facts  about  Sin. 

Unloosing  the  Demons  of  Sin. 

The  Logical  Result  of  Sin. 

The  Sinless  Man. 

The  Open  Life-door. 

Sln  Needs  Double  Treatment. 


The  Problem  of  Sin 


The  Law  oj  Sin. 

The  ugly  face  of  sin  pushes  in  everywhere. 
It  has  to  be  reckoned  with  by  everybody.  Sin  is 
so  ingrained  in  life  that  it  is  constantly  being  con- 
sidered. It  is  one  of  the  most  practical  of  all 
problems,  and  one  of  the  most  personal,  too. 
If  a  banker  is  engaging  a  new  teller  to  be  trusted 
with  the  bank's  funds  he  is  obhged  to  think  of 
certain  phases  of  the  sin  question.  If  the  man- 
ager of  a  great  railroad  is  stud}dng  how  to  operate 
the  vast  system  to  the  best  advantage  of  his 
directors,  and  for  the  pubHc's  safety  and  con- 
venience, he  is  forced  to  study  carefully  the  sin 
question,  even  though  not  from  a  moral  stand- 
point. 

If  a  mother  and  father  are  eager  for  their  child 
to  be  strong  and  pure  and  inteUigent  they  need  to 
know  something  about  the  law  of  life,  and  the 
results  of  disobeying  it.  If  a  man  would  live 
long  and  hold  his  vigor;  if  a  maiden  would  re- 
tain her  beauty  and  gentleness  of  spirit;  above 
all,  if  one  would  hve  a  life  pure  and  strong,  pleas- 
ing to  God  and  helpful  to  his  generation,  the 
problem    of    sin    must    be    thought    about    and 


1 2  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

grasped,  at  least  in  part.  And  the  earlier  and 
more  thorough  the  thinking  the  better. 

In  the  English  translation  of  an  old  Greek 
classic  there  occurs  a  remarkable  sentence  about 
sin.  It  is  a  strange  little  sentence  of  just  six 
words,  peculiar  in  its  makeup  and  packed  full  of 
condensed  vitality:  "The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 
There  are  no  adjectives,  nor  adverbs,  nor  other 
such  qualifying  words.  There  are  just  three 
hard,  knotty,  disagreeable  nouns,  "wages," 
"sin,"  "death";  with  only  enough  other  parts 
of  speech  to  hold  these  securely  together. 

These  nouns  are  the  bones  of  the  sentence; 
the  other  words  the  ligaments  that  hold  the  bones 
in  place.  There  is  no  soft  padding  and  round- 
ing of  flesh.  The  intensity  of  suppressed  feeling 
underneath  comes  out  in  the  very  shortness 
and  sharpness  of  both  the  sentence  and  each 
of  its  chief  words.  There  is  not  even  enough 
stopping  on  the  way  to  give  any  coloring  to  these 
three  rugged,  sharp-edged  words.  Each  comes 
blurting  out,  goes  straight  to  the  bull's-eye  of 
the  target,  and  hits  it  with  a  sharp  ringing  noise 
— "  The  wages  of  sin  is  death." 

That  is  not  true  because  it  is  written  in  this 
old  Book  of  God.  It  is  in  the  book  because  it  is 
true.  It  had  been  written  down  in  many  other 
books  before  it  found  Paul's  pen  here.  Any 
breaking  of  the  natural  order  of  life  brings  a 
penalty;  and  the  penalty  is  always  a  death 
penalty. 

It  has  been  written  in  the  book  of   nature 


The  Problem  of  Sin  1 3 

as  with  sharp  chisel  edge  in  flinty  rock.  In 
the  State  of  Kentucky  is  a  great  cave.  In  the 
cave  is  a  river  flowing.  In  the  river  are  fish. 
They  are  like  other  fish  essentially  with  one  ex- 
ception, they  have  no  eyes.  There  is  an  eye 
socket.  But  where  the  eyeball  should  be  there 
is  instead  the  withered-up  carcass  of  an  eyeball, 
or  none  at  all.  It  is  a  law  of  life  that  what  we  do 
not  use  we  lose.  All  of  nature's  gifts  are  held  by 
use.  These  fish  did  not  use  their  eyes.  In  the 
absence  of  light  they  could  not.  And  through 
lack  of  use  persisted  in  for  an  untold  length  of 
time,  they  lost  both  the  pov/er  of  use  and  the 
organ  of  use.  The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  Any 
breakage  oi  a  law  of  life  carries  with  it  a  penalty, 
and  that  penalty  is  always  a  death  penalty. 

That  sentence  has  been  written  down  very  big 
with  indelible  ink  in  the  book  of  nations.  Years 
ago  Spain  w^as  at  the  head  of  the  great  powers  of 
the  world.  Her  ships  swept  the  seas  victoriously 
and  defiantly.  But  Spain  as  a  nation  broke  one 
of  the  great  laws  of  human  life.  It  is  a  law  of  life 
written  in  the  spirit  of  man  that  every  man  shall 
be  free  to  worship  God  as  he  thinks  to  be  right. 
Spain  ruthlessly,  with  iron-clad  fist,  broke  that  law. 
She  said  to  her  sons,  ''You  shall  worship  not  as 
you  think  best  but  as  I  decree."  Her  sons 
showed  the  inherent  greatness  of  the  nation  by 
refusing.  And  Spain  stained  her  soil  v^ith  the 
blood  of  thousands  of  her  best  sons.  And  Spain 
died  as  a  first-class  power,  a  second-class,  a  third- 
class,  and  more    yet.     Her    proud    position    of 


1 4  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

leadership  was  lost.  Her  death  was  by  suicide. 
The  wages  of  sin  is  death.  Failure  to  obey  the 
great  simple  laws  of  life  contains  in  itseK  a  sure 
penalty,  a  death  penalty. 

It  has  been  written,  and  still  is  being  written, 
in  the  lives  of  men,  with  letters  many  times 
traced  in  a  living  red.  The  Wizard  of  the  North 
in  Great  Britain,  splendid  Walter  Scott,  felt 
keenly  the  sharp  edge  of  debt  and  financial  dis- 
grace. He  said  imperiously  to  his  great  brain, 
**You  shall  pay  these  debts,"  and  greatly  it  re- 
sponded to  his  whip.  And  the  law  of  the  body 
that  sets  limits  to  the  work  that  may  be  done 
was  broken,  badly  broken.  And  that  great  man 
began  dying  early,  and  that  remarkable  brain 
knew  the  death  of  its  powers,  before  the  last  ebb 
of  life  had  slipped  from  his  body.  The  wages 
of  sin  is  death.  Disobedience  of  the  law  of  life 
carries  with  it  a  knotted  whip,  whose  cut  and 
slash  and  sting  always  means  a  death  of  some 
sort. 

Six  Sides  of  Sin. 


I  ran  through  the  Bible  one  time  rather  care- 
fully and  found  there  six  words  used  for  sin.  I 
found  the  word  sin  itself.  Sin,  the  word  under- 
neath our  English,  literally  means  missing  the 
mark.  Here  is  a  shooting-target;  a  man  stands 
with  rifle  up,  taking  aim;  he  presses  the  trigger 
and  the  little  leaden  bullet  flies  from  the  rifle's 
mouth,  but  it  doesn't  hit  the  centre  of  the  target, 
the  bull's-eye;  it  goes  off  into  one  of  the  rings 


The  Problem  of  Sin  1 5- 

or  clear  outside  the  target.  That  is  the  literal 
meaning  of  sin.  It  is  failing  to  hit  that  at  which 
you  have  aimed.  Let  me  ask  you,  softly,  have 
you  ever  done  that  ?  Have  you  ever  failed  to  hit 
the  true  mark  of  life  at  which  you  have  aimed  ?  I 
do  not  say  you  have,  and  I  do  not  say  the  mark 
that  somebody  else  has  set  up  for  you  to  reach. 
But,  just  now,  as  you  see  things  yourself,  have 
you  ever  failed  to  reach  the  true  aim  of  a  true 
life  as  you  have  thought  of  it  yourself?  once? 
just  once  back  there  somewhere?  Because  if 
you  have  that  is  sin,  and  sin  earns  wages,  and  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death. 

There  is  a  second  word  I  found;  the  word 
transgression.  It  means  simply  going  over  a 
boundary  lifie  where  you  have  no  right  to  go. 
Here  is  a  line  at  the  side  of  your  path.  You  have 
a  right  to  be  here  in  your  own  path.  You  have 
no  right  over  beyond  the  line.  There  is  a  sign 
up,  "No  trespassing  allowed."  But  you  go  over 
that  line  to  the  other  side.     That  is  transgression. 

May  I  ask  you  quietly,  please — have  you  gone 
over  the  Hne  in  your  conduct  where  you  should 
not  have  gone  ?  I  do  not  mean  just  now  the  line 
that  others  may  have  set  for  you.  But  as  you 
saw  things  yourself,  the  line  that  you  regarded 
as  the  proper  boundary  line  for  a  true,  pure  life. 
Have  you?  once?  You  pulled  back  again, 
maybe;  but  as  you  look  back  there's  a  sure  jog 
over  the  line  there;  it's  dented  in,  over  and  back; 
two  obUques,  is  that  so?  I  do  not  say  it  is;  but 
as  you  see  things  yourself  ?     Because  if  it  is  so 


1 6  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

that  is  transgression;  and  transgression  is  sin; 
and  sin  earns  wages;  and  the  wages  of  sin,  I 
regret  to  remind  you,  is  death. 

The  third  word  is  iniquity ;  that  is,  un-equity, 
not  equity,  not  equal.  It  thinks  of  the  path  of 
life  as  a  level,  even-faced  road,  without  any 
breaks-down,  no  sags,  no  inequalities;  all  parts 
evenly  up  to  a  standard  level.  Whatever  breaks 
that  even  level  surface  is  un-equity,  iniquity. 
May  I  ask  you  again,  softly,  just  for  yourself  to 
hear,  as  you  look  back  over  the  road  of  your  life 
thus  far,  how  does  it  look  to  you  ?  Is  there  one 
sag-down  back  there?  one  place  where  it  isn't 
plumb  up  to  the  level  which  you  have  thought  of  as 
the  right  level  ?  just  one  ?  Maybe  more  than  one ; 
but  we  are  not  talking  about  numbers  just  now, 
but  about  single  facts;  once  so,  did  you  say?  Be- 
cause if  it  be  so  that  one  break-down  back  there 
is  iniquity,  and  iniquity  is  sin,  and  sin  carried 
with  it  a  return,  and,  I  am  very  sorry  to  say,  that 
return  is  death. 

A  fourth  word  I  found  in  this  strangely  frank 
book  is  the  word  wickedness.  Its  old,  first  mean- 
ing seems  to  have  been  crookedness;  that  is, 
winding  aside,  turning  away,  falling  back.  It 
thinks  of  the  path  of  conduct  as  a  straight  path 
without  any  curves  or  crooks  or  bends.  To 
turn  aside  this  way  or  that  is  wickedness.  Would 
you  kindly  turn  around  for  a  few  moments  of 
steady  looking?  What  sort  of  a  line  has  your 
life  made  ?  Is  there  any  zig-zag  in  it  ?  any  jog  ? 
maybe  **not  much"  you  say,  but  some?  any? 


The  Problem  of  Sin  17 

a  jog  off  once  from  the  straight  line?  If  so, 
that  is  described  by  this  old  word  wickedness, 
and  wickedness  is  sin,  and  sin  is  a  wage-earner, 
and  the  wages  to  be  paid  in  is,  I  much  regret  to 
say,  death. 

The  fifth  word  that  pushed  its  ugly  face  up 
into  mine  in  these  pages  is  the  word  guile.  Guile 
means  sneakiness,  snakiness,  trickiness.  It  means 
being  one  thing  inside,  and  trying  to  have  folks 
who  see  only  the  outer  side  think  you're  some- 
thing else.  It  means  putting  clean  white-painted 
shutters  up  around  your  life  so  folks  may  think 
that's  what  you  are  Uke  clear  through.  How 
about  that?  Has  the  life  always  been  a  clear 
reflector  of  the  motives  and  purposes  within? 
If  once  back'  there  somewhere  there  has  been 
something  of  that  sort,  the  intention  to  deceive 
another,  that  is  guile,  and  guile  is  sin,  and  sin  has 
wages,  and  the  wages  spells  out  the  one  word 
death. 

There  still  is  another  word  used,  a  very  strange 
word  that  at  first  flush  may  seem  to  many  to  be 
quite  too  strong,  a  sort  of  an  extreme  putting  of 
the  thing.  It  is  in  the  Revised  Version.  Jesus' 
bosom  friend,  John,  says  *'sin  is  lawlessness.^^  ^ 
It  would  sound  a  bit  extreme  to  call  some  persons 
whom  we  know  lawless;  yet  when  the  matter  is 
sifted  down  to  the  controlHng  spirit  within, 
underneath,  that  is  found  to  be  the  accurate 
word  to  use.  For  all  true  law  is  the  expression 
of  God's  will;   all  true  law  is  the  fine  rhythmic 

1 1.  John  3 :  4. 


1 8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

swing  of  God  in  action.  And  whatever  is 
different  from  that,  preferring  our  will  to  His, 
maybe  in  ignorance  oftentimes  of  just  how  much 
that  involves,  that  is  against  law,  it  is  without 
law,  and  so  lawless.  May  I  ask  you  most  softly 
yet — any  of  that  in  you?  any  preferring  your 
own  way  when  that  dead-sets  you  against  God's 
will?  a  little?  Because  however  little  it  may 
seem  in  our  thought  of  size,  that  is  lawlessness, 
and  lawlessness  is  the  very  seed  of  sin,  and  sin 
carries  with  itself  a  result,  and  that  result  is 
called  death. 

Sin  is  not  a  disease,  a  moral  disease,  nor  a 
misfortune,  nor  a  weakness  to  be  overlooked  and 
maybe  gradually  overcome.  It  is  an  act  of  the 
will.  When  a  man  sets  himself  to  do  the  thing 
that  is  not  right,  or  to  omit  the  thing  that  he 
should  do,  whether  in  imagination,  or  in  his 
speech,  or  in  action,  that  is  the  thing  called  sin. 

Seven  Facts  about  Sin. 

Now  this  old  sentence  ties  the  word  wages  up 
tight  to  this  word  sin.  There  is  a  certain  logical 
result  of  sin.  It  is  put  here  in  the  simple  commer- 
cial language  of  a  man  getting  the  proper  return 
for  his  day's  work.  Regarding  sin's  wages  there 
are  seven  simple  facts  to  be  noted ;  simple  indeed 
but  terrific  in  what  they  involve. 

The  first  is  this,  that  sin  earns  wages.  Where 
there  is  sin  there  is  a  return  coming  back  into  the 
life  where  the  sin  is.  There  is  a  law  of  compen- 
sation in  sin ;   something  is  due  and  owing  to  the 


The  Problem  of  Sin  1 9 

man  who  has  sinned.  The  second  fact  is  that 
sin  pays  wages.  There  is  no  defalcation  here. 
Sin  never  is  bankrupt.  It  pays.  It  has  a  full 
purse,  a  heavy  bank  account,  and  pays  what  is 
due. 

Sin  insists  on  paying  wages.  A  man  may 
decline  to  receive.  You  may  be  quite  willing  to 
forgive  the  account,  and  call  it  square  without 
any  further  exchanges.  But  there  is  always  the 
other  side  to  be  reckoned  with  here,  sin's  side. 
It  insists  on  squaring  every  account.  Its  books 
are  kept  with  painstaking  accuracy. 

I  recall  a  man  in  an  eastern  city  whom  I  knew 
well.  He  stood  high  in  financial  circles,  in  church 
and  social  circles  for  years.  But  all  the  years,  as 
it  afterwards  proved,  he  had  been  untrue  to  his 
trust  both  in  financial  and  in  family  relations. 
He  staved  off  payment  for  long,  and  when  the 
crisis  came  stood  it  off  a  bit  longer  with  legal 
processes,  but  though  there  w^as  delay  the  pay- 
ment was  made  finally.  He  had  to  receive  what 
was  due  according  to  the  law  of  men.  Yet  be 
it  marked  very  keenly  that  the  law  of  man's 
making  which  compelled  him  to  receive  what 
was  due  had  and  has  very  marked  limitations. 
Man's  law  deals  only  with  discovered  sin,  and 
then  only  w^hen  it  can  be  technically  proven. 
And  such  law  can  compel  a  man  to  receive  only 
a  certain  portion  of  the  due  of  wrong,  according 
as  men  have  prescribed.  But  sin  itself  is  not  so 
restricted.  It  deals  with  the  actual  thing  known 
by  the  man  who  does  it,  and  known  only  by  him* 


20  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Sin's  payment  works  out  insistently,  per- 
vasively, irresistibly,  even  as  a  fire  unquenched 
reaches  every  bit  of  space  within  the  sphere  of 
its  activity.  Sin  insists  on  paying  wages.  This 
man's  home  was  utterly  broken  up,  his  life 
companion  suffered  until  her  mental  balance 
slipped,  his  standing  among  his  fellows  was 
wholly  gone,  his  name  was  disgraced.  When 
the  gates  of  his  prison-house  were  opened  again 
for  his  bodily  liberty,  the  stoutest  of  his  chains 
refused  to  unloose  and  still  held  him  in  their  cold, 
heavy  grip.  And  yet  when  this  much  is  said,  it 
leaves  the  greater  part  unsaid. 

The  fourth  fact  to  mark  is  a  tremendous  fact, 
intense,  dramatic,  graphic,  even  poetic,  if  such  a 
word  can  be  used  of  that  which  is  most  grimly 
prosaic.  Yet  it  must  be  used,  for  there  is  a 
peculiar  swing  and  rhythm  to  sin's  working  here. 
It  is  this — sin  pays  its  wages  in  kind.  I  mean 
that  the  pay  is  the  same  sort  of  stuff  as  the  sin. 
That  which  returns  into  a  man's  life  is  of  a  piece 
with  the  sin  that  started  the  return  movement. 
You  remember  that  the  old  Hebrew,  Jacob,  was 
a  herdsman,  in  earlier  life  working  under  con- 
tract with  his  uncle.  When  the  settlement 
period  came  Jacob  was  not  paid  in  gold  or  silver 
or  notes.  He  received  in  pay  the  sort  of  stuff 
he  was  handling  all  the  time,  sheep  and  goats 
and  oxen.  He  was  paid  in  kind.  That  is  the 
meaning  here. 

Sin  in  the  realm  of  the  body  brings  a  result  in 
the  body.     The  body  is  the  open  record  of  a 


The  Problem  of  Sin  21 

man's  life,  to  him  who  can  read  it.  There  the 
skilled  physician  or  the  skilled  surgeon  reads 
plainly  the  habits  of  the  life.  Sin  against  the 
law  of  mental  life  brings  its  sure  return  in  that 
which  effects  the  mental  powers.  Sin  in  contact 
with  others  brings  a  chain  of  results  affecting  those 
others,  and  in  turn  those  whom  they  affect.  And 
this  is  intensified  in  proportion  to  a  man's  rela- 
tion to  the  community  or  state  or  nation.  It  is 
terribly  true  that  no  man  sinneth  unto  himself. 
Sin  is  the  most  selfish  of  acts.  It  beslimes  to 
some  extent  everyone  we  touch,  whether  we  be 
conscious  or  unconscious  of  that  touch. 

This  man  Jacob  knew  bitterly  the  working  of 
this  old  lajv  of  sin.  He  deceived  his  old  father; 
he  was  deceived  by  his  uncle  Laban  in  the  matter 
of  his  wife,  and  ten  times  over  in  the  matter  of  his 
wages  as  herdsman.  He  wronged  his  brother; 
and  his  favorite  son  was  wronged  by  his  brothers, 
and  that  hurt  the  old  man  far  more  than  though 
the  wrong  had  been  done  to  himself.  He  lied 
to  his  father;  and  was  lied  to  by  his  sons.  As  a 
young  man  he  used  a  kid  in  the  heartless  scheme 
to  deceive  his  bUnd,  aged  father;  and  years  after 
his  sons  used  a  kid  to  give  good  color  to  their 
attempt  to  deceive  their  father.  The  old  man, 
broken  in  both  body  and  spirit,  knew  with  a  bitter 
intimacy  those  last  years  that  sin  pays  wages  in 
kind.  The  sin  breathes  out  its  own  spirit  into 
the  whole  circle  of  one's  Hfe,  and  ever  returns 
grown  stronger  to  bother  the  man  who  first  set 
it  free  and  sent  it  out. 


22  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 


Unloosing  the  Demons  of  Sin, 

David  committed  a  sin  in  secret.  It  was  sup- 
posed to  be  unknown  except  to  the  one  who  joined 
him  in  it.  Yet  that  lawless,  utterly  selfish  act 
against  the  purity  of  life  and  of  a  home  brought 
back  big  bitter  wages.  The  frightful  effects  of 
it  infected  his  own  home,  spread  out  into  his  king- 
dom, left  his  successor  a  horrid  heritage,  and  has 
had  a  bad  influence  among  men  until  this  day, 
with  the  end  not  yet.  The  act  itself  was  re- 
peated with  cruel  variation  within  the  circle  of 
his  own  family.  It  led  to  the  inhuman  dyeing 
of  his  own  hands  with  faithful  outraged  human 
blood.  And  that  act  in  turn  was  repeated  with 
heartbreaking  variation  within  the  family  circle. 

The  man  himself  was  badly  hurt  in  more  ways 
than  one;  his  sense  of  right  as  a  ruler  was  badly 
blurred.  His  favorite  son,  tainted  with  the  law- 
less spirit  of  his  father's  act,  is  received  back  into 
the  home  with  no  change  of  heart  and  with  no 
rebuke  for  his  conduct.  That  itself  was  a  lawless 
act,  hurtful  to  the  son,  and  brought  a  very  whirl- 
wind of  lawlessness  that  almost  disrupted  the 
kingdom,  and  that  left  a  debt  of  blood  and  of 
bitter  memory  that  long  years  did  not  fully  pay. 

The  prodigal,  received  back  into  the  home  un- 
repentant, carried  with  him  a  hell  of  anarchy  and 
suffering  and  heart-burnings.  The  violence  that 
started  in  the  king's  heart,  and  slew  one  of  his 
own  sons,  stayed  not  until  his  favorite  son  fell 
under  its  ruthless  hand,  and  left  the  old  father 


The  Problem  of  Sin  23 

heartbroken.  That  first  brief  act  let  loose  a  horrid 
horde  of  demons.  Sin  has  a  frightful  contagion. 
Ah!  this  old  warrior  king,  with  his  splendid 
talents  and  great  traits  of  character,  learned 
with  a  bitter  tenacity  of  memory  that  sin  pays 
wages  in  kind. 

History  tells  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  world 
where  two  races  were  brought  into  intimate  con- 
tact; a  superior  race  and  an  inferior,  and  so 
remained  for  many  years.  The  men  of  that 
superior  race,  taking  advantage  of  their  position 
of  superiority,  with  many  splendid  exceptions, 
invaded  the  sanctity  of  the  women  of  the  inferior 
race,  for  passion's  sake.  And  for  long  years, 
through  successive  generations,  the  daughters  of 
those  injured  women  have  been  debauching  the 
sons  of  those  men,  until  that  bit  of  country  has 
been  made  red  with  precious  human  blood,  and 
wet  with  bitterest  human  tears.  And  deep  in 
the  very  family  fibre  of  life  there  is  woven  inex- 
tricably in,  the  truth  that  sin  pays  wages  in  kind. 

A  fifth  fact  to  mark  is  this :  sin  pays  in  instal- 
ments. The  payments  begin  at  once.  The  very 
immediate  act  of  sin  has  in  it  the  beginning  of 
its  results,  and  those  results  continue  bit  by  bit, 
with  a  grimly  patient  faithfulness,  at  regular 
periods  through  the  years.  The  human  eye 
blurred  by  its  own  sin  is  not  always  able  to  see 
the  results.  The  human  mind  dulled  by  its  own 
decisions  is  not  always  keen  enough  to  appreciate 
what  is  going  on,  until  passing  years  pile  up  the 
results,  and  they  are  forced  upon  the  attention, 


24  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

and  gazed  upon  with  wonder.  And  sometimes 
we  hear  talk  about  mysterious  providences  among 
religious  folk,  and  of  hard  luck  among  others; 
but  never  a  bit  of  suffering  has  come  into  any  life 
but  it  could  be  traced  back,  were  our  knowledge 
full  and  our  eyes  keen  enough,  back  step  by  step 
in  regular  logical  sequence  to  some  initial  human 
act  of  wrong. 

The  sixth  fact  should  be  coupled  with  the  fifth, 
the  payment  is  in  jull.  There  are  no  defalca- 
tions here;  no  settlement  by  agreement  of  fifty 
cents  on  the  dollar.  But  dollar  for  dollar,  and 
each  full  weight,  and  with  full  measure  of  cents, 
is  paid.  No  amount  of  reluctance  on  our  part, 
no  attempt  at  shirking  will  make  any  difference. 
A  man  is  very  apt  to  grow  generous  here.  He  will 
forgive  the  account  due  him.  He  is  even  eager 
to  "call  the  thing  square."  "No,"  this  inexora- 
ble paymaster  sternly  says,  "you  will  step  up  and 
receive  the  full  stint  of  what  has  been  earned." 

A  French  writer  has  described  a  scene  in  the  old 
province  of  Brittany,  that  juts  out  into  the  sea  on 
the  west  of  France.  A  man  was  walking  along 
the  seashore  on  a  bright  afternoon  enjoying  the 
air  and  sea.  Above  the  sky  was  blue,  the  sun 
shining,  the  air  invigorating,  and  the  view  off 
very  beautiful.  And  the  man  walks  along 
leisurely,  thinking  only  of  the  enjoyment  of  his 
surroundings.  He  does  notice  absent-mindedly 
that  his  feet  sink  into  the  sand  rather  much. 
Then  they  sink  a  little  more,  until  he  begins  to 
think  it  strange;  then  all  at  once  it  flashes  upon 


The  Problem  of  Sin  25 

him  that  the  tide  is  out,  and  he  is  in  a  bed  of 
quicksand. 

With  the  instinctive  dread  of  a  native,  he  knows 
well  what  that  means,  and  instantly  turns  in 
horror  towards  the  mainland  to  escape.  But  his 
quicker,  intenser  movements  make  his  feet  sink 
in  deeper,  up  to  the  ankles.  He  plunges  madly 
this  way  and  that,  calling  wildly  for  help.  But 
there  is  nobody  to  hear,  and  the  more  he  plunges 
the  deeper  he  sinks.  Now  he  turns  to  the  left, 
seeking  to  find  a  footing  beyond  the  edge  of  the 
treacherous  bed  of  quicksand.  And  now  franti- 
cally to  the  right,  and  now  up  towards  mainland, 
but  he  only  sinks  down  the  deeper  into  the  smooth, 
slippery  sand.  Now  the  sand  is  to  his  knees, 
and  now  over  his  loins;  then  its  pressure  crowds 
in  about  his  vitals,  while  he  stretches  out  his  arms 
wildly  and  shrieks  piteously  for  help,  and  the 
pressure  is  seen  in  the  blood  coming  from  mouth 
and  nose  and  ears.  And  now  only  the  head  is 
above  the  smooth  level  of  pretty  sand,  and  now 
just  a  pair  of  glaring,  blood-shot  eyes,  and  now 
a  tuft  of  hair.  Then  only  a  smooth  stretch  of 
pretty  shining  sand.  And  above  the  sky  is  blue, 
the  sun  shining,  the  air  so  fine,  and  the  sea 
laughing. 

That  is  the  working  of  nature's  law.  It  is 
true  ahke  of  all  her  laws.  Here  it  was  the  law  of 
gravitation  that  ruthlessly,  mercilessly,  inexor- 
ably drew  down  the  man  who  had  given  himself 
unwittingly  over  to  its  power.  The  same  action 
marks  this  law  of  sin  of  which  we  are  talking. 


26  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Whoever  comes  within  the  sphere  of  its  power 
will  find  it  working  in  the  same  quiet,  sure,  merci- 
less way.  Law  knows  no  mercy.  Oh!  yes,  there 
is  a  provision  sometimes  made  in  human  law 
for  certain  days  of  grace  in  meeting  financial 
obligation.  But  it  simply  means  that,  if  the  brief 
time  allotted  find  you  unready  with  the  money, 
the  house  may  be  sold  from  over  your  head,  and 
you  left  in  the  cold  night  unsheltered.  That  is 
surely  great  grace. 

Here  in  this  old  tale  of  the  native  of  Brittany  is 
an  illustration  of  the  working  of  law,  the  logical 
sequence  of  cause  and  result.  With  slow  pace, 
bit  by  bit,  with  mercilessly  sure  tread  the  law  of 
sin  works  out  its  logical  way  endlessly.  Sin  pays 
in  instalments,  but  in  full,  with  a  final  fulness 
beyond  anybody's  power  to  compute. 

There  is  a  seventh  fact  to  be  noted  here,  that 
should  be  marked  very  keenly,  and  not  forgotten. 
Sin  is  self-executive.  That  is  to  say,  every  sin 
pays  its  own  bills.  Sin  keeps  an  independent 
bank  account  and  checks  out  all  its  own  payments. 
And  it  can  be  said  very  positively  that  there  is  no 
result  of  sin  except  that  which  works  out  of  itself. 
Yet  that  is  terrific  beyond  the  power  of  the  imagi- 
nation to  picture,  or  of  words  to  tell.  You  may, 
if  you  choose  to,  leave  God  out  of  your  thinking 
about  this.  Yet  that  does  not  affect  the  tremen- 
dous fact  put  down  here.  Sin  has  bound  up  in 
itself  all  the  terrific  consequences  that  ever  come. 
The  act  of  sin  unlooses  the  demons  bound  within, 
and  they  do  but  carry  out  to  the  full  what  the 


The  Problem  of  Sin  27 

man  began.     Sin  works  automatically.     It  is  self- 
executive. 

The  Logical  Result  of  Sin. 


This  cold,  calm,  strange  sentence  says  that  the 
wages  of  sin  is  death.  What  is  death  ?  There  is 
no  question  much  harder  to  answer.  I  can  tell 
what  it  is  7iot,  and  that  will  help  to  clear  the  ground 
a  bit.  It  is  not  the  passing  of  life  out  of  the  body 
merely.  That  is  the  thing  we  all  think  of  first 
and  most  when  death  is  spoken  of.  Yet  that  is 
a  very  small  item,  a  mere  detail  of  death,  painful 
in  itself,  and  with  distressing  results  to  those  who 
tarry  behind,  but  the  smallest  part  of  death. 
And  death  Js  not  ceasing  to  be,  cessation  of  ex- 
istence. That  cannot  be.  A  spirit  does  not 
cease  to  be  and  cannot,  and  man  is  essentially  a 
spirit-being.  Good  were  it  for  some  men  if  death 
meant  for  them  an  utter  cessation  of  existence. 

And  it  can  be  said  with  great  positiveness  that 
death  is  not  arbitrary  punishment  meted  out  by 
God.  God  has  sometimes  been  held  up  to  criti- 
cism as  a  cruel,  unfeeling  sort  of  tyrant,  taking 
pleasure  in  dealing  out  punishment  to  sinful  men ; 
not  so  much  of  late  years  as  formerly,  but  still  a 
good  bit;  always  too  much.  Any  is  too  much 
and  a  slander  upon  Him.  We  borrow  our  ideas 
of  punishment  from  men,  and  among  men  pun- 
ishment is  very  largely  arbitrary.  That  is,  it  is 
decided  upon,  chosen  out  to  be  inflicted  upon  the 
guilty  one.  A  child  in  school  disobeys  some  rule 
and  perhaps  persists  in  the  disobedience.     The 


28  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

teacher  decides  upon  some  punishment,  either 
whipping,  or  detention,  or  extra  work,  or  to  be 
deprived  of  some  privilege.  That  of  course  is 
arbitrary,  discretionary,  decided  as  the  teacher 
judges  to  be  best.  A  soldier  breaks  the  rules  of 
camp,  or  of  the  discipline  of  army  life.  His 
officer  decides  what  punishment  shall  be  inflicted 
upon  him.  A  man  is  found  guilty  of  an  offence, 
and  in  most  instances  there  is  discretion  with  the 
judge  to  decide  what  punishment  he  shall  suffer. 

Let  it  be  said  very  plainly  that  death  as  a  result 
of  sin  is  not  in  any  way  like  that.  It  is  the  logical 
result  of  sin.  It  is  included  in  the  sin.  Sin  and 
death  are  only  different  parts,  or  phases,  or  stages 
of  the  same  thing.  Sin  is  death  begun.  Death 
is  sin  finished,  worked  out  to  its  conclusion. 
Sin  is  death  in  the  green;  death  is  sin  dead  ripe. 
Sin  is  the  seed ;  death  is  the  fruitage  of  that  seed. 
Death  is  the  logical  culmination  of  sin,  the  final 
stage.  Death  begins  with  the  beginning  of  sin. 
All  unsuspected  by  those  standing  by,  the  be- 
ginnings of  the  pallor  of  death  have  already  come 
where  sin  is  done. 

All  unconsciously  to  the  man  committing  the 
sin,  the  tide  of  life  has  already  begun  its  faint, 
imperceptible  ebb.  All  Hving  men  are  partially 
dead.  Death  is  a  gradual  state  until  finally  com- 
plete. In  its  essence  death  is  separation  from 
God.  All  life  is  the  breath  of  God.  Sin  is  cut- 
ting one's  self  off  from  God.  It  is  like  gripping 
a  man  by  the  throat  with  tightening  clutch  until 
the  breath  of  life  departs.     Sin  is  choosing  to 


The  Problem  of  Sin  29 

leave  God  out.  The  very  act  cuts  ofif  the  source  of 
life.  The  grammar  of  the  verb  to  sin  is  peculiar 
to  itself.  It  is  this:  present  tense,  to  sin;  first 
future  tense,  following  instantly  on  the  present, 
to  suffer;  in  the  second  future  tense  the  verb 
changes  its  form,  it  becomes  a  noun — hell. 

That  hateful,  ugly  word  hell,  which  the  lips  utter 
only  by  compulsion  when  they  must,  for  the  sheer 
pain  of  it,  is  simply  the  name  given  to  the  place 
where  death  reigns;  where  God  has  been  ex- 
cluded. They  who  prefer  to  leave  God  out  will 
gather  together  at  some  time  by  a  natural  moral 
affinity,  or  gravitation.  The  name  used  for 
such  meeting-place  in  this  old  Book  is  that  hurt- 
ing word  hell.  Hell  is  death's  abode.  God 
shut  out,  no  life,  death,  death  regnant — that  is 
hell. 

Is  there  anybody  listening  here  who  has  not 
sinned?  If  so,  I'll  wait  a  moment  for  you  to 
withdraw,  please,  for  to-day's  talk  is  not  for  you. 
We  all  seem  to  be  staying  in.  Well,  then,  by  our 
own  confession,  we  are  under  the  action  of  this 
law  of  sin.  There  is  a  death  sentence  written 
over  every  face  here.  Sometimes  it  can  be 
plainly  seen.  Sometimes  to  our  dim  eyes  there 
seems  to  be  no  suggestion  of  such  a  thing.  But 
were  our  eyes  keener  to  read  spirit-lines  and 
spirit-fact,  we  would  find  through  the  flashing 
eye,  the  clear  ruddy  skin,  the  firm  rounded  flesh, 
a  distinct  tracing  of  this  strange  thing  called  death. 

I  have  no  doubt  that  many,  maybe  most,  of 
these  listening  so  kindly  and  patiently  are  mem- 


30  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

bers  of  the  Christian  Church.  But  as  I  run  my 
eye  over  your  faces  I  cannot  say  who  are  church 
members  and  who  are  not.  And  I  am  glad  for 
the  purpose  of  this  talk  to-day  that  I  cannot. 
For  this  law  of  sin  recognizes  no  such  distinctions. 
There  has  been  a  thoughtless  thinking,  without  it 
being  said  in  so  many  words,  that  being  within 
the  secure  walls  of  church  membership  shields 
one  from  the  action  of  this  law  of  sin.  But  that 
is  not  so.  Whoever  is  thinking  so,  maybe  half- 
unconsciously  thinking  so,  is  befooling  himself 
here.  This  law  of  life  which  is  a  law  of  death 
applies  fully  wherever  there  is  life,  and — sin. 

Well,  then,  we  are  all  under  the  action  of  this 
law  and  all  under  sentence  of  death,  sin's  logical 
conclusion.  What  can  we  do  about  it  ?  Of  our- 
selves we  cannot  do  a  thing  to  reUeve  the  situa- 
tion. The  thing  we  need  is  hf  e  in  place  of  death ; 
the  utter  cutting  out  of  the  seeds  of  death  and  the 
putting  in  of  new  seed,  the  seed  of  life,  a  new  life. 
There  are  only  three  ways  that  anything  can  be 
gotten,  that  is,  proper  ways:  by  inheritance,  by 
purchase,  and  by  gift.  We  have  lost  our  inheri- 
tance of  life.  It  has  been  forfeited  by  our  alli- 
ance with  the  one  thing  that  is  utterly  opposed 
to  life.  There  is  not  enough  wealth  in  the  vaults 
of  London  and  New  York,  Paris  and  St.  Peters- 
burg, nor  in  the  mines,  to  buy  any.  The  wealthy 
people  are  merely  money-wealthy,  not  life- 
wealthy,  so  far  as  their  gold  is  concerned.  And 
we  have  none  for  ourselves,  much  less  to  give 
away.     What  shall  we  do?    We  are  all  in  bad 


The  Problem  of  Sin  3 1 

shape.  It  is  a  blind  alley  we  are  all  heading  up 
in.  Would  it  sound  any  better,  or  less  bad,  if 
instead  of  "blind  alley"  I  used  a  foreign  word  for 
it,  cul-de-sac,  and  hid  the  ugliness  of  the  truth 
behind  that  ?  Better  just  use  blunt  old  English, 
that  the  plain  truth  come  more  plainly,  bluntly 
home. 

The  Sinless  Man. 


But  here  steps  one  upon  the  scene  of  life  from 
another  sphere — Jesus.  By  His  own  word,  and 
by  the  frank  confession  of  those  who  know  Him 
most  intimately,  He  is  free  from  sin.  The  Jew 
who  so  foully  betrayed,  and  the  Roman  who  so 
unfairly  gave  sentence  of  death,  agreed  fully  in 
this.  Being  without  sin,  He  is  not  under  action 
of  this  law.  He  steps  on  the  scene.  And  in 
effect  He  says,  '*It  grieves  me  to  the  quick  that 
this  great  race  of  splendid  m.en  is  in  such  bad 
shape."  But  mark  you  keenly,  and  let  the  truth 
here  be  said  with  the  greatest  reverence,  not  even 
Jesus  the  Son  of  God  can  change  the  working  of 
this  law  of  life.  He  came  not  to  break  but  to 
fulfil. 

What  can  He  do?  This  is  what  He  did  do. 
He  wxnt  down,  of  His  own  voluntary  accord, 
went  down  to  where  men's  sin  had  driven  man. 
He  tasted  death.  Tasted  ?  aye,  drained  its  dregs 
to  a  bitterness  not  known  by  any  other  before  or 
since.  He  went  down  into  the  throat  of  death, 
into  the  mouth  of  hell,  and  seizing  death  by  the 
throat  throttled  it,  and  then  rose  by  the  moral 


3  2  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

gravity  of  His  own  being  up  to  a  new  life,  a  death- 
less life  for  all  men.  And  now  Jesus  offers  that 
new  deathless  life  as  a  free  gift  to  all  who  will 
accept  it,  and  accept  with  it  the  conditions  of  life. 

But  will  you  kindly  note  as  keenly  as  you  ever 
noted  anything  that  there  are  three  qualifying 
facts  that  belong  in  here.  There  has  been  a  sort 
of  a  weak  sentimentaUsm,  common  in  some  quar- 
ters, about  salvation  through  Jesus,  as  though 
by  some  sort  of  legerdemain  all  the  evil  re- 
sults of  sin  were  at  once  wiped  out,  and  all  the 
benefits  of  the  new  life  come  fully  in  by  means 
of  an  assent  to  Jesus'  offer  of  salvation.  It  does 
seem  sometimes  as  though  there  were  those  who 
say,  "We  can  do  about  as  we  please,  indulge  in 
sin  as  suits  us  now,  and  then  after  a  while, — well, 
there's  Jesus,  He's  loving ;  God  is  love.  He  is  too 
loving  ever  to  let  anyone  be  lost.  We'll  just  line 
up  that  way  and  pull  through  all  right."  I  do 
not  mean  that  I  have  ever  heard  anybody  put  it 
so  bluntly,  and  baldly,  and  irreverently  as  that 
into  words.  But  I  have  surely  heard  a  great  many 
say  it  loudly  with  their  lives.  Better,  maybe,  if 
they  had  put  the  language  of  their  lives  into  the 
language  of  the  lips,  that  its  very  baldness  might 
shock  them  into  thinking  of  the  truth. 

The  first  qualifying  fact  to  note  is  this :  accept- 
ing Jesus  does  not  nullify  nor  neutralize  the  re- 
sults in  this  life  of  past  sins.  That  man  who  lost 
his  arm  through  a  drunken  debauch  will  remain 
so,  without  the  arm,  crippled  in  body  and  in 
activity  to  the  end  of  the  years.     Those  years 


The  Problem  of  Sin  33 

absorbed  in  selfish  pleasure-seeking  are  lost  for- 
ever, and  the  mental  strength  that  was  not  held 
and  matured  by  earnest  effort  can  never  again 
be  gotten.  The  grave  of  the  past  never  gives 
up  its  dead,  only  their  spectres  to  trouble  and 
haunt. 

The  broken  home  circle  can  never  be  restored. 
A  new  one  may  be  made,  but  never  the  old.  That 
saintly  mother,  grief-stricken  in  heart  through 
somebody's  sin,  broken  in  strength  and  shattered 
in  her  years — that  is  not  changed.  There  may 
be  some  softening  of  after-years,  but  the  old  deep 
scars  upon  heart  and  body  and  Hfe  are  never  re- 
moved. Time  softens  greatly  where  conditions 
are  changed,  but  under  all  remains  the  old  wound, 
and  it  pains' sharply  when  a  bit  of  damp  weather 
comes.  The  man  who  through  dissipation  has 
depleted  his  vitahty  never  will  be,  never  can  be, 
either  in  body,  or  in  his  mental  powers,  or  in  his 
spiritual  perception  and  grasp,  what  he  was  meant 
to  be,  and  would  have  been.  The  bird  with  the 
broken  pinion  never  does  soar  as  high  again.  Its 
broken  wing  has  forever  broken  the  strength  and 
swiftness  of  his  flight. 

The  man  may  be  fully  forgiven,  and  blessedly 
changed,  and  wondrously  used,  but  never  can  he 
be  the  man  God  meant,  nor  be  used  in  service  as 
he  could  have  been  had  God  had  the  use  of  his 
full,  unstunted,  unwasted  powers.  Selfishness  is  a 
spirit-paralysis.  The  powers  never  fully  recover. 
The  daily  grubbing  for  gold,  with  no  high  spirit- 
motive  gripping  and  sweetening,  forges  a  finely 


34  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

woven  network  about  all  of  the  powers.  And 
however  the  life  may  afterwards  be  surrendered 
to  Jesus  the  hampering  movement  is  never 
wholly  gone.  It  has  been  rutted  deep  into  the 
cellular  tissue  of  the  body. 

The  heart  may  become  wholly,  blessedly  pure, 
the  motives  and  impulses  all  sweetly  and  fra- 
grantly cleansed,  but  the  mark  of  the  past  is  dented 
deep  in  the  body,  the  energies,  the  activities,  the 
outlook.  This  is  the  simple,  sad,  tragic  truth.  It 
should  all  be  said  in  softest  tone  of  lowered  voice, 
for  we  are  talking  of  our  brothers;  and  said  too 
with  a  hush  of  shame  over  the  spirit,  for  we  are 
talking  about  ourselves  here  together.  But  it 
should  be  said,  very  distinctly,  with  the  words 
pronounced  clear  and  sharp,  that  the  process 
may  be  stopped  instanter. 

Opening  the  Lije-door. 

There  is  a  second  fact  to  be  put  in  with  hard, 
sharp  emphasis.  Life  through  Jesus  comes  only 
as  fully  as  the  opened  door  permits.  You  will 
note  that  I  am  not  speaking  of  heaven,  the  after- 
life, but  of  this  tremendous  life  we  are  living 
now.  There  is  a  truth  here  for  the  after-life, 
too,  no  doubt.  The  after-life  will  be  shaped 
upon  the  life  lived  here.  A  man's  life  here  be- 
comes the  mould  or  standard  for  that  great  after- 
life. Of  course  this  does  not  affect  a  man's 
salvation;  the  jact  of  it.  But  then,  who  is  there 
who  is  willing  to  be  saved  by  the  skin  of  his  teeth, 
pulled  in  at  the  end  of  a  rope,  without  a  covering 


The  Problem  of  Sin 


35 


rag  to  his  life,  barely  in,  breathlessly  sprawling 
where  he  has  gotten  in! 

This  new  life  through  Jesus  begins  now  as 
quickly  as  the  spirit's  door  is  opened  to  Him. 
It  begins  coursing  through  all  a  man's  being. 
It  affects  all  of  his  powers.  It  touches  into  new 
vitality  and  new  beauty  every  gift  with  which 
man  is  endowed.  But  it  can  come  only  as  it  is 
allowed  to  come.  The  man's  will  always  remains 
supreme  in  his  life.  Even  when  God's  will  is 
made  supreme  in  a  life,  as  it  should  be,  it  is  by 
the  imperial  act  of  the  man's  own  will.  A  man's 
will  is  never  greater  in  action  than  when  all  its 
great  fine-grained  strength  is  used  in  yielding  to 
God's  will.  A  man  can  keep  the  door  partially  shut. 

Will  it  seem  severe  if  I  say  that  most  men  do  ? 
Yet  the  truth  seems  to  force  just  that  statement 
out  into  plainest  speech.  And  a  partially  opened 
door  means  only  partial  Ufe  incoming,  and 
partial  death  remaining.  I  remember  an  old, 
dear  friend  of  mine,  a  splendid  man  in  his  strong, 
gentle  spirit,  a  great  leader  among  men,  the  great 
leader  in  the  movement  with  which  his  Hfe  was 
and  is  identified.  Yet  he  died  when  a  man 
should  be  in  the  mature  fulness  of  his  powers. 
For  certain  habits  of  life  common  among  men, 
not  commonly  regarded  as  wrong,  and  not  wrong 
except  as  being  against  the  law  of  life  in  the  body 
— yet  that  is  a  great  and  grievous  exception — 
sapped  his  vitality,  and  poisoned  the  body,  and 
led  to  the  death  that  should  have  been  delayed 
for  years. 


36  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

And  as  I  speak  of  him  I  recall  another  great 
leader,  in  another  sphere  of  activity  in  the  re- 
ligious world,  who  sHpped  the  tether  of  Hfe  when 
in  the  prime  of  his  years,  for  Hke  reasons.  These 
men  sinned  against  the  law  of  their  bodies. 
And  that  is  sinning  against  the  God  of  our  bodies. 
God  needs  us  and  our  strength.  Whatever 
takes  us  away  before  His  time,  or  takes  away  our 
strength,  hampers  God  in  His  activities  among 
men  just  that  far.  They  sinned  unwittingly  no 
doubt,  thoughtlessly,  and  yet  there  is  apt  to  be 
a  certain  wilfulness  in  such  thoughtlessness. 
Many  men  sin  ignorantly.  Yet  such  ignorance 
is  a  sin,  for  we  can  know  and  should  know  how 
best  to  live  for  the  glory  of  God. 

Jesus'  gift  of  life  is  both  for  the  after-life,  the 
eternal  life,  and  for  the  present  time.  The  present 
life  affects  far  more  seriously  than  we  know  the 
fulness  of  life  in  that  after-life.  Only  as  the  door 
is  swung  fully  open  can  Jesus  give  fulness  of  life 
here  and  after.  Full  surrender  to  the  sway  of 
Jesus,  becoming  in  practice  more  really  full  as 
new  light  comes,  is  the  open  door  to  full  life 
from  Jesus'  hand.  Partial  surrender  means 
partial  Hfe. 

There  is  an  exception  to  be  noted  here.  Ful- 
ness of  life  does  not  mean  absence  of  bodily 
death  yet.  For  Jesus'  plan  of  life  has  not  yet 
been  fully  carried  out.  He  is  to  reign  until  all 
enemies  are  put  under  His  feet;  then  the  last 
enemy,  death,  is  to  be  put  down,  too,  but  not 
until    then.     Jesus'    redemption    will    be    com- 


The  Problem  of  Sin  37 

pleted  on  His  return.  Meanwhile,  with  this 
exception  noted,  there  is  fulness  of  life  through 
fulness  of  His  sway  within. 

Sin  Needs  Double  Treatment. 


The  third  quahfying  fact  goes  to  the  heart  of 
the  whole  matter.  It  really  has  been  said  al- 
ready in  another  way,  but  should  be  put  in  again 
for  the  emphasis  of  repetition,  and  for  the  plain- 
est putting  of  it  into  words.  It  is  this:  there 
is  one  sin  that  even  the  blood — say  it  very  softly 
and  reverently — that  even  the  blood  of  Jesus 
cannot  cleanse  away;  that  is,  the  sin,  any  sin, 
that  /  cling  to.  This  is  going  to  the  very  tap-root 
of  the  whole  matter.  His  blood  avails  only 
against  the  sin  that  I  break  with,  turn  out  of 
doors.  Sin  needs  double  treatment  if  it  is  to  be 
thoroughly  gotten  rid  of,  first  by  the  man  who 
sins,  then  by  that  Man  who  never  sinned;  the 
first  must  use  a  sharp-edged  knife,  the  Second 
will  use  a  red  stream,  and  then  fire;  the  first 
must  cut  it  out,  and  cut  it  off,  so  far  as  his  will 
can  do  that,  and  it  can  do  it  fully;  the  Second 
will  take  away  its  guilt  and  power. 

Oh !  for  a  band  of  sin- fearers;  men  with  a  hor- 
ror and  dread  of  sin  in  any  shape,  and  under 
any  guise;  a  band  of  sin-haters  and  sin- fighters ^ 
who  will  fight  it  tooth  and  nail,  day  and  night, 
mercilessly,  relentlessly,  with  all  the  power  of 
loving  tact  and  diplomacy,  and  all  the  rugged, 
immovable  obstinacy  of  mountain  rock;  and 
who  will  give  Jesus  full  entrance  into  their  Hves, 


38  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

push  the  door  clear  back  till  its  knob  scratches  the 
inner  wall,  that  so  He  may  come  in  full  face  with 
all  His  glorious  flood  tide  of  life. 

There's  a  simple  story  told  of  a  longshoreman 
in  Scotland.  He  was  a  rough,  ignorant  man,  and 
a  hard  drinker.  One  night  he  went  in  an  intoxi- 
cated condition  to  a  mission  hall,  intending  to 
make  a  disturbance  and  break  up  the  meeting. 
But  a  tactful  Christian  gentleman  came  and  sat 
down  by  his  side  and  began  talking  with  him. 
He  quieted  down  and  listened.  Then  the  two 
kneeled  in  prayer.  And  that  strange  thing, 
called  in  religious  talk  conversion,  must  have 
taken  place,  for  when  they  rose  from  their  knees 
he  was  evidently  a  different  man.  There  was  a 
new  look  in  his  face,  a  changed  spirit  looked  out 
of  his  eyes,  and  his  manner  was  gentle  and 
deferential. 

In  a  voice  affected  by  the  deeper  feelings 
within  he  thanked  the  gentleman,  saying  he  must 
go  home  and  tell  his  wife,  and  went  out.  As  he 
entered  his  home  his  wife  was  just  going  up  the 
stairs  with  their  son  to  put  him  to  bed.  He 
called  to  her,  "Come  down  stairs,  lassie,  with 
the  lad;  I've  been  converted;  we  must  have 
prayers  in  our  house."  And  she  muttered  aloud, 
* '  Hehh !  drunk  again  1 "  But  he  said,  ' '  Nay,  nay, 
lassie,  I'm  na  drunk;  I  tell  you  I've  been  con- 
verted; bring  down  the  lad,  and  we'll  have 
prayers."  And  wondering  in  her  heart  what 
had  come  over  her  husband  she  came  down,  and 
the  three  of  them  knelt  on  the  bare  floor  to  pray. 


The  Problem  of  Sin  39 

But  he  didn't  know  how  to  pray.  He  never 
had  prayed.  His  lips  didn't  know  any  word  of 
that  sort.  And  the  situation  was  getting  em- 
barrassing. There  they  are,  the  three,  kneeling 
in  silence,  the  sleepy  boy  wondering,  and  the 
awed  wife  wondering,  and  the  man  himself 
wondering  what  to  say.  Then  like  a  quick  flash 
he  remembered  how  they  had  done  in  the  city 
years  before  when  the  Queen  had  been  there. 
And  as  that  come  to  him,  he  picked  his  knit 
cap  from  his  head  and,  whirling  it  in  the  air,  cried 
out  with  an  earnest,  reverent  cry,  ''Hooray  for 
Jesus!  hooray  for  Jesus!"  Then  they  went  to 
bed. 

When  I  realize  how  Jesus  came  down  here,  and 
stepped  info  man's  place,  and  bore  a  death  that 
naturally  would  not  have  come  to  Him,  I  feel  like 
uncovering  head,  and  heart,  and  will,  and  with 
the  deepest  reverence  of  love,  repeating  the  long- 
shoreman's prayer,  ''Hooray  for  Jesus." 

The  wages  of  sin  is  death;  but  the  free  gift  of 
God  is  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord, 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  DOUBT 


Perplexed  Searchers. 

Taking  away  a  Cripple's  Crutches. 

Sure  Marks  of  Honest  Doubt. 

The  Best  Book  on  Christlu^  Evidences* 

The  Spirit  of  Search. 

The  Book. 

The  Man. 

The  Call  of  the  Christ. 


The  Problem  of  Doubt 


Perplexed  Searchers. 

At  one  time  I  used  to  meet  frequently,  for  a 
short  while,  at  a  hotel  dining-room  table,  a 
bright  young  college  man  who  was  well  informed 
and  attractive.  One  day  he  introduced  the  sub- 
ject of  religion.  He  doubted  the  divinity  of 
Jesus,  or  rather  he  said  he  did  not  believe  that 
He  was  divine.  Again,  he  as  openly  said  that 
he  did  not  believe  the  Bible.  I  said  to  him  as 
gently  as  I  could,  so  as  not  to  seem  to  be  arguing, 
that  I  presumed  he  had  examined  rather  care- 
fully into  these  questions  on  which  he  expressed 
himself  so  positively.  To  my  surprise  he  calmlv 
admitted  that  he  had  not.  He  had  not  given  the 
Bible  one  careful  reading  through,  neither  had 
he  examined  the  facts  about  Jesus.  When  I 
mildly  expressed  some  surprise  at  his  willingness 
to  give  such  a  positive  opinion  regarding  matters 
that  he  had  not  examined  he  did  not  seem  con- 
cerned, but  rather  to  enjoy  restating  his  opinions. 

When  the  conversation  turned  on  other  sub- 
jects, especially  those  connected  with  his  pro- 
fession, he  seemed  quite  cautious  about  express- 
ing an  opinion  except  where  he  had  fully  informed 
43 


44  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

himself.  As  we  talked,  there  would  come 
creeping  into  my  thoughts  unbidden  a  certain 
subtle  feeling  that  he  thought  as  he  did  because 
he  wanted  to.  It  suited  his  purpose,  or  his  way 
of  living,  or  for  some  reason  he  preferred  to 
think  as  he  did,  and  so  he  did  think  that  way. 
It  was  an  extremely  handy  way  of  fixing  up  one's 
opinions  to  suit  one's  wishes. 

This  man  was  not  a  doubter.  That  word 
implies  perplexity,  questions,  a  desire  to  know 
what  is  true.  This  man  did  not  seem  perplexed, 
had  no  question  to  ask,  and  was  not  seeking  for 
anything.  He  plunged  at  once  to  the  conclusion 
that  seemed  to  suit  his  purpose  or  desire,  and 
there  he  calmly  stuck.  I  seem  to  have  met  quite 
a  number  of  his  clan.  This  talk  about  doubt,  let 
me  say  frankly  at  once,  is  not  meant  for  such  as 
he.  It  is  meant  for  those  who  are,  as  I  was, 
perplexed  about  the  reason  for  the  great  verities 
of  life  and  faith,  and  being  perplexed  seek  to 
learn  at  first  hand  for  themselves  the  reason  for 
things. 

In  contrast  with  that  incident,  many  a  time  a 
young  man  or  a  young  woman  in  college  has 
sought  an  interview,  and  with  eager  face  has  told 
of  the  sore  perplexity  that  has  come  in  study, 
regarding  some  of  the  old  sacred  truths  learned 
first  at  a  mother's  knee.  And  as  I  listened  I  seemed 
to  read  between  the  lines  the  story  of  a  mental 
awakening,  a  brain  bristling  with  interrogation 
points  as  to  "the  reason  why,"  the  earlier  habit 
of  thought  shocked  to  find  such  questions  arising 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  45 

about  such  sacred  things,  but  the  questions  in- 
sistent; withal  an  earnestness  of  purpose  to  find 
the  truth  that  was  to  me  fascinating.  Then 
would  follow  the  quiet  talk  together,  sifting  be- 
tween essentials  and  non-essentials,  bringing  in 
fuller  information  sometimes,  getting  facts  into 
clearer,  broader  perspective,  and  getting  hold  of  the 
keynote  of  all  such  research,  then  a  bit  of  soft,  quiet 
prayer  together,  and  then  the  pleasure  of  seeing 
the  steadier  step,  the  returning  peace  of  spirit 
as  the  fellow  went  back  to  his  study,  and  back 
to  a  life  controlled  by  truth. 

These  latter  were  the  true  doubters ;  they  were 
wavering  in  their  thoughts;  they  questioned  old 
opinions  in  the  face  of  facts  new  to  them;  they 
were  earnestly  and  actively  seeking  for  informa- 
tion; they  watched  for  every  opportunity  to  get 
new  light;  they  were  not  content  to  rest  in  their 
doubts  but  were  bent  on  -finding  the  truth.  It  is 
with  such,  and  for  such,  that  this  present  simple 
talk  is  intended.  It  is  not  meant  for  those  who 
want  to  doubt.  There  comes  a  time  in  the  life 
of  every  one  who  weakens  up  mentally,  when  that 
awakened  mind  asks  that  the  great  truths  of  life 
come  up  to  the  bar  of  his  reason,  and  prove  their 
right  to  be  accepted. 

To  think  is  to  doubt ;  that  is,  to  be  perplexed,  to 
question,  and  sift  into  the  reason  for  things.  To 
think  more  is  to  doubt  less.  To  think  clearly 
through  is  to  find  the  truth.  Enough  truth  can 
always  be  found  to  rest  upon  while  more  is  coming. 
The  great  truths  that  are  used  to  shape  and  con- 


46  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

trol  the  life,  and  bring  peace  to  the  spirit,  are  few 
and  simple.  One  never  finds  all  of  the  truth. 
It  is  one  of  the  delights  of  living  to  be  always 
finding  more  of  truth.  This,  too,  will  be  one  of 
the  great  delights  of  the  upper  after-life.  There 
will  always  be  the  zest  of  finding  new  treasures. 

Some  people  never  doubt  because  they  never 
think.  Of  course,  I  mean,  think  for  themselves 
into  the  reason  of  things.  Some  people  never 
doubt,  for  they  live  in  that  sweet,  peaceful  atmos- 
phere, made  by  their  elders  or  others  who  have 
doubted,  and  thought,  and  thought  through,  and 
now  rest  upon  the  rock  of  found  truth.  Some 
people  never  doubt  because  they  have  doubted, 
have  searched  and  sifted,  and  found  enough  truth 
to  rest  upon,  and  to  control  their  lives.  These 
latter  are  the  real  leaders  of  thought  here.  They 
are  still  learning,  studying,  questioning,  but  the 
element  of  perplexity  has  gone.  They  rest  in 
what  they  have  found,  as  they  eagerly  search  for 
more. 

Taking  away  a  Cripple's  Crutches. 

There  are  two  sorts  of  doubters ;  those  that  are 
not  doubters  at  all  but  like  to  be  so  called,  and 
then  the  doubters  that  really  are  doubters.  To 
mark  these  real  doubters  off  clearly  the  word 
honest  should  be  used — ^honest  doubters.  That's 
a  bit  hard  on  the  others,  but  still  it  seems  to  be  the 
word  to  use  because  of  its  honesty.  A  true  man 
does  love  to  be  honest.  It's  one  of  the  touch- 
stones of  manhood. 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  47 

The  first  sort  is  not  really  entitled  to  that  good, 
wholesome  word  "doubter,"  but  they  insist  upon 
using  it,  so  let  that  go.  The  more  accurate  word 
to  use  for  them  is  quibblers.  When  they  search 
it  is  simply  for  something  that  will  bolster  up  the 
opinion  they  hold.  They  find  fault  with  Chris- 
tianity. They  pick  out  the  flaws  and  faults  of 
Christian  people — and  there  are  surely  enough 
to  pick  out — and  seem  to  take  pleasure  in  pointing 
them  out.  They  gather  up  the  arguments  and 
statements  of  others,  and  freely  pass  them  out 
without  finding  if  they  are  really  trustworthy. 
They  seem  to  listen  to  the  other  side  only  to  study 
how  to  answer  it. 

These  quibbling  friends  are  fond  of  argument ; 
that  is,  they  are  fond  of  that  sort  of  argument 
which  is  a  sharp  crossing  of  swords  to  see  which 
can  outdo  the  other;  the  keen,  sharp  passage  of 
words  and  measuring  of  statements  to  see  which 
can  come  out  ahead.  Such  duelling,  it  can  be 
positively  said,  though  very  common,  never  helps 
and  always  hurts.  The  men  who  indulge  in  it 
are  usually  seeking  to  defend  their  own  position, 
which  often  means  to  defend  their  own  intellectual 
keenness.  No  earnest  man  in  the  thick  of  life 
has  time  for  such  discussion.  It  does  but  react, 
however  unconsciously,  upon  a  man's  beliefs,  and, 
worse  yet,  upon  his  ability  to  see  a  fact  colorlessly, 
to  v/eigh  what  comes  without  prejudice,  and  so  to 
get  the  help  of  knowing  the  truth. 

There  is  a  story  told  of  Henry  Ward  Beecher 
and  a  certain  gentleman  who  was  very  widely 


48  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

known  for  his  eloquence  and  for  his  scepticism. 
It  was  at  a  social  gathering  of  a  group  of  brilliant, 
intellectual  men.  The  sceptical  man  had,  as 
was  his  wont,  taken  occasion  to  make  ugly  flings 
at  the  Christian  religion  in  his  usual  keen,  elo- 
quent way.  Beecher  listened  with  the  others. 
After  a  pause  he  broke  in  abruptly  by  telling  of 
a  scene  he  said  he  had  witnessed  that  day  on 
one  of  the  streets  of  New  York. 

It  was  a  rainy  day,  with  the  streets  in  bad  shape. 
A  badly  crippled  man  was  hobbling  painfully 
along  on  his  crutches,  picking  his  way  over  the 
crossing  of  one  of  the  busiest  thoroughfares,  when 
a  strong,  burly  man  came  roughly  along,  and 
rudely  ran  into  the  cripple;  the  poor  fellow's 
crutches  slipped  this  way  and  that,  and  he  fell 
a-sprawling  in  the  soft  slime  of  the  street.  But 
the  strong  man,  instead  of  apologizing  and  help- 
ing him  up,  laughed  coarsely  at  the  poor  fellow's 
plight,  and  kept  on  his  way. 

As  Beecher  told  the  story  in  his  own  inimitably 
vivid  way  the  company  present  expressed  their 
disgust  with  such  conduct,  the  sceptical  man 
heartily  condemning  it.  Beecher  looked  him 
full  in  the  face  and  said  slowly,  ''Thou  art  the 
man:  we  are  all  crippled  by  sin;  Christianity 
is  helping  us  find  our  way  along  the  road  of  life, 
even  then  a  painful,  hobbling  way;  you  come 
along  ruthlessly  and  knock  out  the  only  help  we 
have  to  hold  us  up  and  steady  our  steps,  and 
offer  nothing  better,  but  leave  us  sprawling 
hopelessly  in  the  mire."     With  his  great  keen- 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  49 

ness  Beecher  had  characterized  the  whole  class  of 
sceptics,  unbelievers,  whose  whole  pleasure  seems 
to  be  in  telling  what  they  do  not  believe,  and  in 
disturbing  those  who  do  honestly  believe  some- 
thing. 

It  is  not  pleasant  to  say  so,  but  it  is  very  much 
to  be  feared  that  much  so-called  doubt  is  merely 
a  sort  of  cloak  for  something  else,  and  that 
something  else  a  thing  far  worse  and  meaner  than 
the  doubt.  The  word  doubt  has  quite  an  in- 
tellectual flavor.  It  seems  to  suggest  mental 
strength.  It  makes  a  fine  cloak.  Its  ample 
folds  and  soft  gray  color  can  cover  up  very  much 
within.  It  is  quite  apt  to  be  an  intellectual 
covering  for  some  very  unintellectual,  very 
common,  and  very  coarse  habits.  Scratch  some 
self-styled  doubters  and  you  will  find  ugly,  selfish 
sinners.  Let  such  friends  remember  and  not 
forget  that  there  is  no  necessary  connection 
between  selfishness  and  doubt,  between  sin,  just 
common,  plain  sin,  and  intellectual  diffculties. 

Some  Marks  oj  Honest  Doubt. 

Then  there  is  the  real  doubter.  He  is  not  ab- 
sorbed in  what  he  does  not  believe.  No  true 
doubter  ever  is.  He  is  concerned  about  finding 
out  what  should  be  believed.  He  is  digging  for 
facts.  He  carries  a  sifter  and  attempts  to  separ- 
ate the  mere  husks  from  the  wheat-hearts.  There 
is  the  throwing  aside  of  much  that  comes  of  course. 
But  this  is  merely  incidental  with  the  honest 
searcher.  His  eye  and  thought  are  on  the  kernel 
4 


50  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

of  fact.  No  serious,  thoughtful  man  allows  him- 
self to  give  his  strength  to  declaring  what  he  does 
not  believe,  except  incidentally  for  an  immediate 
purpose.  He  centres  thought  and  strength  on 
what  is  plainly  true,  on  what  must  be  believed. 
And  as  that  is  held  sharply  up  to  view  the  other 
falls  away.  The  best  way  to  get  rid  of  error  is  to 
hold  up  the  truth.  Darkness  goes  when  the  sun 
rises. 

The  honest  doubter  is  a  wholesome  man  to  meet. 
He  is  not  trying  to  trip  somebody  up,  but  to  get 
a  sure  footing  for  himself .  He  never  attacks.  He 
inquires.  He  is  always  seeking  for  light.  He 
goes  about  with  his  eyes  and  ears  more  open 
than  his  mouth.  It  is  opened  chiefly  to  ask 
questions,  real  questions  that  seek  information. 
He  welcomes  truth  from  any  quarter,  and  con- 
tributions to  one's  stock  of  truth  sometimes  come 
from  most  unlikely  quarters. 

There  is  another  sure  mark  of  this  wholesome 
man;  he  will  admit  himself  wrong  when  new 
light  shows  that  he  is.  That  is  always  a  hard 
thing  to  do,  nothing  is  much  harder.  It  makes 
a  severe  mental  wrench  many  a  time.  It  wounds 
one's  intellectual  pride  very  sorely.  Many  a 
man's  growth  is  stunted  and  stopped  at  this 
point.  For  refusal  to  admit  the  light  that  comes 
has  a  peculiarly  stupefying  effect  upon  the  mind. 
The  honest  doubter  honestly  admits  to  himself 
that  he  was  wrong  in  his  former  conclusions,  and 
then  he  will  admit  it  to  others.  Such  admission 
reveals  the  really  great  man.     He  is  not  half  so 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  51 

much  concerned  about  whether  his  views  have 
been  right,  as  he  is  to  get  right  now.  And  he 
knows  that  nothing  clogs  up  the  road  to  truth 
like  misconceptions  of  truth,  or  positive  wrong 
—untruths. 

And  then  the  final  test  of  the  real,  true  doubter 
is  this,  that  as  light  comes  he  will  allow  it  to 
govern  his  habits,  his  life.  Here  is  the  test  that 
drops  many  a  man  out  of  the  ranks.  The  sharp 
tug-of-war  comes  at  this  point.  For  it  is  an  essen- 
tial of  finding  truth  that  the  spirit  and  habit  of 
life  be  made  to  fit  what  is  found.  That  may  mean 
very  radical  changes.  It  may  cost  friendships, 
and  income,  and  standing.  But  that  will  not 
deter  the  jtrue  man,  for  he  is  honest  first  of  all. 
For  mark  you  keenly,  the  great  truths  are  the 
moral  truths.  They  concern  the  life  we  are  living 
now,  and  to  live  always.  The  great  test  of  truth 
is  its  effect  upon  the  life.  Truth  itself  affects 
life.  It  pushes  away  the  artificial,  the  false, 
the  wrong,  and,  breathing  as  a  soft  warm  south 
wind  upon  life,  brings  out  its  strength  and  fra- 
grance. 

Jesus  spoke  a  word  about  this  that  states  a 
great  law  quite  apart  from  His  immediate  use 
of  it:  "He  that  is  willing  to  do  .  .  .  shall 
know."  It  is  a  characteristic  of  the  great  truths 
that  they  attack  what  is  contrary  to  themselves, 
what  is  wrong.  Truth  is  aggressive.  It  points 
out  with  unflinching  finger  the  wrong,  the  untrue, 
the  false,  the  sin.  It  insists  upon  a  man's  life 
measuring  up  to  its  requirements.     Its  voice  is 


52  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

distinct  and  sharp,  although  most  quiet.  It  in- 
sists on  being  heard.  The  only  way  to  get  rid 
of  that  voice  is  to  shut  up  the  ears.  And  then  the 
poor  fool  of  a  man  hasn't  changed  the  voice  nor 
stopped  it.  He  has  only  cut  himself  off  from 
hearing  it ;  but  not  cut  himself  off  from  the  result 
it  is  announcing  to  him.  Truth  is  always  asking 
a  man  to  do  something.  To  him  who  obeys  it 
becomes  an  open  book  in  big,  plain  type.  He 
that  is  willing  to  do  shall  know.  Obedience 
leads  to  a  university  degree  in  the  highest  knowl- 
edge. Knowledge  of  truth  lies  only  along  the 
path  of  obedience,  with  most  at  the  farther  end. 

Christianity  owes  much  to  honest  doubt.  There 
was  a  doubter  in  the  original  group  of  twelve  men 
who  stood  closest  to  Jesus.  And  there  is  pretty 
sure  to  be  found  one  who  has  doubted,  or  who 
doubts,  wherever  twelve  thoughtful  men  gather. 

Jesus'  attitude  towards  the  first  doubter  is  won- 
derfully cheering  and  helpful.  He  didn't  chide 
nor  find  fault.  He  welcomed  personal  investiga- 
tion. In  earnest  tones  He  said,  ''Reach  hither 
thy  hand;  find  out  for  yourself;  know  by  the 
feel  that  it  is  I  myself  who  was  dead  and  now  am 
risen." 

Thomas  accepted  that  invitation.  He  re- 
vealed his  sincerity  and  earnestness.  He  came 
where  he  was  likely  to  get  light.  He  was  a  true 
doubter,  honest  in  his  perplexity,  looking  for  light, 
and  when  it  came  frankly  admitting  that  he  had 
been  wrong.  To  every  thoughtful,  honest  doubter 
comes  that  same  warm,   eager  invitation  from 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  53 

Jesus'  lips,  "Reach  hither  thy  hand;  find  out  for 
yourself."  A  true  doubter  never  settles  down  in 
his  doubts.  He  asks  questions.  But  he  asks 
them  to  get  information ;  not  to  puzzle  somebody 
else,  and  never  for  the  sake  of  arguing,  and  never 
to  prove  himself  right. 

Much  scepticism  is  an  extreme  mental  pro- 
test against  the  extreme  statements  of  religious 
teachers.  One  extreme  always  draws  out  an 
opposite  extreme.  Both  men  are  extreme  and 
therefore  both  in  part  wrong.  The  angle  of 
vision  is  not  the  correct  one  for  clear  seeing. 
But  let  not  the  man  at  the  sceptical  extreme 
think  to  excuse  his  position,  nor  to  rest  in  it 
because  the  other  man  is  extreme  too.  A  man 
should  seek  for  truth,  and  not  be  held  back  by 
somebody's  extreme  statement  of  it.  The  earn- 
est man  does  seek  for  truth,  not  that  he  may  com- 
bat the  other  man  in  his  wrong  view  of  it,  but  for 
the  sweet  peace  of  knowing  truth,  and  the  yet 
sweeter  peace  of  living  his  lije  in  its  clear  light. 
No  man  is  justified  in  staying  at  one  extreme 
because  somebody  else  is  at  the  other.  He  is 
hindering  the  truth  itself,  and,  worse,  is  hindering 
some  other  man  who  is  hiding  behind  him. 

The  Best  Book  on  Christian  Evidences. 

All  men  are  controlled  in  their  thinking  either 
by  prejudice  or  by  conviction.  Prejudice  is  pre- 
judgment. It  is  reaching  a  conclusion  before 
getting  all  the  information  there  is  to  be  gotten. 
Conviction  is  matured  judgment  formed  after 


54  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

getting  and  weighing  carefully  all  available  in- 
formation. All  men  are  influenced  to  some 
extent  by  prejudice.  I  suppose  a  really  unpreju- 
diced, unbiassed  man  cannot  be  found.  There  is 
always  that  in  his  training  that  influences  him  for 
or  against,  quite  apart  from  his  reasoning  powers. 
There  is  nothing  harder  to  overcome  than  pre- 
judice, especially  early  prejudice,  that  coloring 
that  has  come  through  home  surroundings,  cir- 
cumstances, schooling,  companionships,  and 
friendships.  It  can  be  overcome.  Yet  no  task 
is  more  difficult. 

I  was  a  guest  once  in  the  home  of  an  old  family 
of  New  England  stock,  and  from  my  host  got  this 
story.  He  was  a  civil  engineer,  a  man  of  mature 
judgment,  and  like  the  old,  typical  New  Eng- 
lander  gave  a  large  place  to  facts,  without  much 
play  to  imagination.  As  a  boy  he  had  a  boy 
friend  who  later  became  a  lawyer,  an  orator,  and 
one  of  the  best  known  lecturers  on  infidel  subjects. 
The  father  of  this  boy  friend  was  pastor  of  one  of 
the  churches  in  the  village.  He  belonged  to  a 
certain  old  type  of  ministers  whose  preaching 
was  of  a  stern,  logical,  unsympathetic  sort,  and 
his  home  life  was  sadly  in  keeping  with  it.  A 
hard,  hot  temper,  a  domineering  spirit,  rank 
selfishness,  did  not  make  a  very  lovable  sort  of 
man  in  the  home.  For  months  before  this  boy 
was  born  into  that  home  his  mother  was  in  bit- 
terness of  soul.  Her  daily  experiences  led  to 
much  bitterness,  rebellion,  doubts  of  God's  love, 
and  grave  doubt  about  the  Christian  faith.     And 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  55 

in  such  an  atmosphere  her  son  was  conceived 
and  born. 

That  was  a  terrible  birthright  for  any  one  to 
overcome.  Yet  mark  you  keenly,  it  could  have 
been  overcome,  even  though  its  tinge  might  re- 
main over  all  the  life.  Where  there  is  the  earnest, 
seeking  spirit,  any  bent  of  early  prejudice  can 
be  practically  overcome,  even  though  its  finger- 
marks may  remain. 

Let  it  be  understood  at  once  that  Christianity 
has  counterfeits.  That  fact  helps  greatly  in 
believing  it.  Could  it  have  a  greater  compli- 
ment than  a  counterfeit  ?  The  counterfeit  em- 
phasizes the  value  of  the  real.  Nobody  ever 
tried  to  counterfeit  a  piece  of  common  brown 
wrapping-paper.  It  is  the  finely  engraved  govern- 
ment bill  or  bank  bill  that  is  counterfeited.  And 
let  the  other  fact,  the  sad  fact,  be  put  down  too, 
that  Christianity  must  not  be  judged  by  some  of 
its  followers,  indeed  by  many  of  its  followers.  It 
must  indeed  be  judged  by  its  influence  upon 
men's  lives.  And  from  that  test  it  has  no  reason 
to  shrink,  for  the  most  enlightened  nations,  the 
strongest  nations,  are  those  that  have  been  under 
Christian  influence. 

And  there  are  countless  instances  close  at  hand 
everywhere  of  individual  lives  wholly  and  beauti- 
fully transformed  under  the  influence  of  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ ;  indeed  miraculously  transformed, 
so  sharp  is  the  change  from  old  to  new,  with  no 
explanation  other  than  that  of  the  power  of  God. 
One  single  instance  of  that  sort  is  quite  enough 


56  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

to  prove  the  living  power  of  God.  One  Jerry 
McAuley  or  one  Samuel  Hadley  is  the  best  vol- 
ume on  Christian  evidences  to  be  found. 

That  there  may  be  found  many  selfish,  worldly 
Christians  does  but  indicate  how  many  un- 
anchored  people  there  are  that  are  swept  along 
by  the  tide  of  their  times.  Christianity  is  the 
popular  religion  of  the  western  world.  Entrance 
to  much  society  is  through  the  church  door. 
And  many  who  have  been  and  are  true  in  their 
attachment  to  it  have  not  the  strength  of  character 
to  rise  above  the  prevalent  type  of  Christianity 
by  which  they  are  surrounded.  Christianity  has 
been  severely  wounded  many  times  in  the  house 
of  its  friends.  All  this  should  make  the  honest 
doubter  the  more  eager  to  get  to  the  fountain- 
head  of  the  stream.  Jesus  stands  the  test  of  any 
examination.  To  Him  one  should  go  who  would 
know. 

The  Spirit  0}  Search. 

The  searcher  for  the  truth  should  mark  keenly 
that  the  result  of  his  thinking  and  study  will  de- 
pend wholly  upon  two  things:  the  way  he  goes 
at  it,  and  the  reason  he  has  for  going  at  it  at  all. 
The  way  he  goes  at  his  study  will  very  largely 
decide  what  he  will  get.  He  needs  to  have  a 
candid,  open  spirit.  He  should  try  to  be  unbiassed 
as  far  as  possible,  neither  for  nor  against.  In- 
deed he  must  go  a  bit  further  than  this ;  there 
should  in  fairness  be  a  spirit  of  sympathy  with 
that  which  he  is  investigating  or  judging. 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  57 

This  is  the  true  critical  spirit.  The  expert  in 
sculpture  in  examining  a  bit  of  work  seeks  to 
discern  the  purpose  of  the  chiselling  artist.  He 
tries  to  put  himself  at  one  in  spirit  with  the  work- 
man, so  as  to  see  the  thing  from  his  standpoint 
and  judge  accordingly  as  to  the  success  and  skill 
shown.  He  may  find  faults  and  lack  of  skill  and 
finish,  crudeness  of  conception  and  of  workman- 
ship, but  he  approaches  his  criticism  from  the 
artist's  standpoint. 

The  same  is  true  of  all  proper  criticism,  whether 
of  a  painting,  of  a  book,  or  of  a  piece  of  art  needle- 
work. The  critic  approaches  not  to  quibble  nor 
find  fault  but  to  get  in  touch  with  the  artist's 
conceptio^i  and  ideal  and  then  judge  of  his  work. 
This  must  be  the  spirit  here.  One  should  be  not 
disposed  favorably  nor  unfavorably,  but  seeking 
to  put  himself  in  warm,  sympathetic  touch  with 
the  subject  and  its  ideals  to  judge  accordingly. 
Now  I  do  not  suppose  that  anyone  ever  filled 
out  fully  such  requirements,  but  if  he  faithfully, 
honestly  tries  to  he  will  get  just  that  much  nearer 
to  the  truth. 

Then  the  reason  why  a  man  goes  at  such  study 
will  determine  largely  what  he  will  get.  And  there 
is  just  the  one  great  purpose  worth  while,  and  that 
is  to  have  the  life  made  true  and  strong  and  beau- 
tiful. Life  is  too  serious  for  one  to  be  satisfied 
with  less  than  this,  or  to  spend  time  for  a  less 
high  ambition.  There  is  satisfaction  in  getting 
to  understand  truth  and  the  reason  of  things,  a 
mental  satisfaction,  but  this  is  incidental.     The 


58  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

great,  throbbing  passion  of  a  true  man  is  to  have 
his  life  true  and  pure,  strong  and  fragrant.  To 
know  more  than  we  weave  into  the  daily  fibre  of 
life  is  to  add  to  our  own  self-reproach  in  the 
coming  days.  It  does  but  brew  a  bitterer  drink 
for  the  later  years'  drinking. 

But  if  a  man  ring  true  here,  if  there  be  the 
simple  strong  purpose  to  put  every  truth  to  the 
test  of  living,  and  to  test  the  life  mercilessly  by 
whatever  truth  comes,  and  hold  it  up  to  that 
standard,  then — let  me  say  it  very  deliberately — 
that  man  may  throw  away  all  his  old  teachings, 
his  mother's  Bible  and  all  that  goes  with  it,  if  he 
can  trust  himself  to  hold  steady  to  this  purpose 
as  he  examines  what  comes  up. 

Our  searching  friend  can  go  a  step  further  yet. 
Let  him  begin  by  believing  nothing.  But  let  him 
suppose  there  is  a  God.  And  all  the  innermost, 
deepest  yearnings  of  his  soul  within  and  all  the 
marvels  of  the  universe  without  make  that  a  very 
easy  and  natural  supposition.  The  simplest 
philosophy  would  argue  that  there  is  no  power 
apart  from  personality.  Power  may  be  plainly 
seen  and  felt  without  the  personaHty  behind  it 
being  seen.  But  in  all  the  world  of  research,  so 
far  as  men  have  been  able  to  sift  through  to  the 
very  bottom,  there  never  yet  has  been  found 
power  of  any  sort  without  a  person  being  behind 
it  somewhere.  And  all  around  us  in  life,  in  nature, 
is  tremendous,  immeasurable,  incalculable  power 
being  seen.  So  that  from  the  inner  yearnings, 
the  swing  of  the  worlds,  the  workings  of  nature, 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  59 

it  is  easy  and  natural  and  philosophical  to  sup- 
pose a  marvellous  being  back  of  all  that  we  see 
and  feel. 

Suppose  then  there  be  a  God.  What  sort  of  a 
God  would  we  prefer  Him  to  be  ?  Well,  at  least 
five  things  can  be  said  of  the  God  we  would  pre- 
fer to  have:  He  would  be  pure,  and  powerful; 
He  would  be  just,  and  loving;  He  would  have  a 
plan  for  His  creation  and  for  my  life.  How 
would  such  a  God  feel  towards  the  men  He  had 
made?  He  would  surely  want  to  communicate 
with  them,  and  tell  His  plan,  and  take  great 
pleasure  in  their  affairs,  and  in  their  realizing  in 
their  lives  His  plan  for  them. 

Well,  here  is  a  Book  that  is  distinct  from  all 
other  books,  that  from  end  to  end  claims  to  con- 
tain just  such  a  communication.  And  here  is  a 
Man,  the  central  figure  of  this  Book,  before 
whom  all  men  have  instinctively  bowed  in  rever- 
ence, who  said  that  He  came  from  God  for  the 
one  purpose  of  letting  men  know  about  God. 
This  clears  the  ground  for  the  man  who  wants 
to  know  for  himself.  He  will  set  himself  to  ex- 
amining this  Book,  and  this  Man. 

As  he  takes  up  the  Book  how  shall  he  feel  tow- 
ards such  a  God  as  there  may  be  ?  What  should 
his  attitude  be  towards  Him?  It  would  surely 
be  one  of  reverence,  loving  reverence,  of  intense 
desire  to  be  like  Him,  and  to  have  His  plan  of 
one's  life  made  fully  real.  And  more,  there  would 
be  an  intense  longing  that  He  would  reveal  things 
personally.     In  such  search  I  would  naturally 


6o  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

want  to  communicate  with  Him  and  ask  Him  to 
reveal  Himself  to  me,  and  help  me  to  come  into 
such  contact  with  Him  that  I  could  receive  His 
revelation  of  Himself. 

But  how  can  I  communicate  with  Him  ?  Well, 
how  do  I  communicate  with  others?  In  two 
ways:  by  words  telling  what  is  in  my  mind,  and 
without  words.  I  look  in  the  face  of  my  familiar 
friend,  with  whose  spirit  I  am  in  full  sympathy, 
and  I  know  very  often  the  thoughts  of  his  mind 
before  he  utters  them.  I  can  glance  at  my  wife 
in  a  group  of  friends  and  let  her  know  without 
speaking  a  word  what  I  am  thinking  and  get  her 
answer.  We  are  all  constantly  communicating 
with  each  other  without  using  words.  We  are 
revealing  our  inner  thoughts  to  others  in  words, 
and  without  words. 

Then  we  are  getting  accustomed  to  distant 
communication  without  any  material  thing,  even 
such  as  a  wire,  to  connect  the  two  talking.  There 
is  a  certain  sympathetic  contact  expressed  through 
mechanical  contrivances  that  are  in  touch.  Per- 
sons completely  out  of  sight  of  each  other,  with 
miles  between  separating  them,  can  intelligently 
communicate  and  exchange  their  thoughts  with 
each  other  without  any  material  connection  be- 
tween them.  So  we  have  grown  accustomed  to 
communicate  with  those  we  cannot  see,  and  to 
receive  replies. 

With  such  a  God  and  such  men  desiring  to 
know  Him,  it  would  be  quite  natural  for  them  to 
speak  to  Him  in  words,  and  to  speak  when  no 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  6 1 

words  can  express  the  thoughts;  and,  more,  to 
be  conscious  of  His  sympathetic  response.  The 
common  word  for  this  sort  of  thing  is  prayer. 
With  this  to  be  said,  that  very  many  who  pray  have 
not  become  skilled  in  receiving  the  sympathetic 
responses. 

It  would  be  natural  therefore  in  beginning  the 
examination  of  this  Book,  and  this  Man,  to  bow 
in  reverence,  and  ask  such  a  God  as  there  may  be 
to  reveal  Himself  and  His  truth,  and  all  the  study 
and  thinking  would  naturally  be  done  in  this 
reverential,  prayerful  spirit. 

A  word  of  caution  should  be  put  in  here.  There 
is  a  very  common  tendency  with  all  of  us  to  get  to 
a  conclusion  too  quickly.  We  are  all  apt  to  form 
judgments  before  all  the  facts  attainable  are  in. 
The  common  fever  of  life  affects  us  here  as  else- 
where. We  are  quite  apt  to  make  up  our  opin- 
ions too  quickly,  without  a  broad  enough  out- 
look on  the  facts,  and  without  weighing  each  fact 
duly.  Facts  are  like  men,  their  true  worth  can- 
not be  told  by  counting;  they  must  be  weighed. 
And  weighing  always  takes  more  time.  It  is 
easy  to  keep  tab  on  the  statements  that  come 
along;  but  to  sift  them  thoroughly  so  that  the 
non-essentials  fall  away,  and  leave  the  essential 
element  standing  alone,  takes  more  time;  indeed 
more  time  than  many  seem  disposed  to  give. 
And  then  to  put  the  essential  element,  this  real 
nut -heart  of  truth,  into  the  scale  and  hold  steady 
and  quiet  enough,  so  the  scale  can  balance  ac- 
curately— that  takes  time  and  steadiness  of  temper. 


62  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

And  it  takes  isolation  too.  There  is  so  much 
jarring  of  trains  overhead,  and  electric  cars  on  the 
level,  and  tunneUing  beneath  the  surface,  that  a 
man  has  to  get  insulated  and  isolated  so  as  to  get 
quiet  enough  to  keep  the  balances  within  himself 
steady.  Yet  all  this  is  itself  an  immense  advan- 
tage, for  it  tends  to  increase  the  inner  quiet,  which 
is  man's  true  spirit. 

The  Booh. 


In  such  a  spirit,  and  for  such  a  purpose,  let  a 
man  begin  reading  this  Book  through.  Let  him 
read  it  just  as  he  would  any  other  book  so  far 
as  his  mental  processes  are  concerned,  thought- 
fully and  clear  through,  reserving  his  conclusion, 
as  of  course  he  will,  until  he  is  through.  He  may 
find  much  that  does  not  seem  clear.  He  may 
find  what  seem  to  be  inconsistencies  or  inaccu- 
racies. Let  him  note  these  mentally,  but  hold 
them  strictly  in  abeyance,  for  he  is  aiming  to  get 
the  spirit  and  swing  of  the  Book  clear  through. 
Repeated  readings  have  been  found  to  clear  up 
many  matters  that  seemed  puzzling  at  first,  and 
some  never  are  cleared  up.  But  those,  it  is  to 
be  noted,  never  affect  the  main  purpose  of  the 
Book. 

There  are  certain  things  to  be  noted  about  the 
Book.  It  has  had  a  strange  history.  Indeed, 
in  the  strangeness  of  its  history  it  is  apart  from  all 
other  books  of  any  nation  or  people.  It  has  been 
printed  in  greater  numbers  by  far  than  any  other 
book,    and    in    many    more    languages.     More 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  63 

scholarly  men  of  acute  mind  have  given  their 
time  and  lives  to  its  study  and  explanation  than 
to  any  other.  It  has  been  and  still  is  the  most 
studied,  the  most  read,  the  best  loved,  and  the 
Voorst  hated  of  any  book.  It  has  been  a  veritable 
storm  centre,  and  also,  in  sharp  contrast  with  that 
phrase,  a  veritable  haven  of  rest.  Thousands  of 
men  have  stormed  over  its  contents,  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  have  found  in  its  pages  that  which 
spoke  sweetest  peace  to  their  spirits,  and  held 
them  steady  in  life's  roughest  storms. 

It  has  had  a  strange  vitality,  outli\dng  all  sorts  of 
enmity.  Men  used  to  burn  it  up  in  their  efforts 
to  get  rid  of  it.  Of  late  years  they  have  taken  to 
cutting  it, up  with  keen  fingers  and  sharp-edged 
knives.  But  it  seems  to  survive  either  process 
about  equally  well,  and  is  to-day  being  printed  in 
larger  numbers  than  ever,  scattered  more  widely, 
studied  more  thoroughly  and  keenly,  and  appar- 
ently loved  more  devoutly.  No  intelligent  man 
can  afford  to  be  ignorant  of  a  book  with  such  a 
record. 

The  Book  itself  is  found  to  contain  as  many  as 
sixty-six  distinct  books,  written  by  many  writers, 
at  least  as  many  as  forty.  These  men  writing  it 
are  from  all  classes  of  society.  Some  have  had 
the  best  learning  and  culture  of  their  times  and 
of  the  world ;  others  seem  to  have  had  practically 
no  such  advantages.  They  wrote  in  many  differ- 
ent places,  as  far  apart  in  extremes  as  Rome  in 
Europe  and  Babylon  in  Asia.  The  period  of 
writing  runs  through  as  much  as  sixteen  hundred 


64  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

years.  So  that  it  is  not  like  most  books,  in  being 
written  by  one  man.  It  is  a  collection  of  books 
by  many  men,  of  different  sorts,  written  under 
all  sorts  of  conditions  and  circumstances,  in  many 
different  countries,  running  through  a  very  long 
period  of  time. 

Now  please  note  what  is  the  most  noteworthy 
thing  of  all  this  Book,  its  subject.  It  is  about 
religion.  There  is  no  one  subject  on  which  men 
have  talked  so  much  and  about  which  they  have 
differed  so  radically  and  so  violently  as  the  sub- 
ject of  religion.  The  greatest  hatreds  of  the  race 
have  been  about  rehgion.  The  worst  cruelties 
have  been  practised  in  religion's  name  and  for  its 
sake.  Wherever  men  gather  in  groups  large  or 
small  they  will  sooner  or  later  get  to  talking  about 
two  subjects,  and  differ  with  each  other  on  each. 
It  may  be  in  the  logging- camp,  or  about  the 
miner's  common  fire,  on  the  upper  deck  or  in  the 
steerage  of  a  steamer,  in  social  circles  or  uni- 
versity circles,  in  the  commercial  club  or  in  the 
slums.  Let  men  talk  freely  together  and  two 
subjects  crop  out,  religion  and  politics;  the  rela- 
tion of  man  to  God  and  his  relation  to  his  fellow. 
And  invariably  they  differ,  politely,  gently,  in- 
tensely, abruptly,  stormily,  according  to  the  sort 
of  men,  but  always  differ. 

Now  this  Book,  or  collection  of  small  books, 
from  so  many  different  men,  so  different  in  every 
way,  is  about  this  stormy,  divisive  subject  of  re- 
ligion. Yet  there  is  here  an  essential  agreement. 
There  is  a  practical  unity  of  thought  and  ideal 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  65 

and  purpose  throughout  from  end  to  end.  This 
is  one  of  the  first  things  that  strikes  one  most 
forcibly  in  examining  this  book.  And  finding  it 
intensifies  one's  interest  greatly  and  sets  his  appe- 
tite on  edge  as  he  goes  at  it  farther. 

There  is  a  second  thing  to  note.  This  Book 
is  a  sort  of  mother  of  books.  It  has  given  birth 
to  great  numbers  of  books,  on  all  phases  of  life  on 
which  books  are  written.  It  seems  to  have  had 
a  peculiar  power  of  stimulating  thought.  There 
is  here  a  vitality  that  has  been  felt  in  every  de- 
partment of  writing  and  research.  And  more, 
all  the  lines  of  study  to  which  men  have  devoted 
their  strength  seem  to  run  their  roots  down  into 
this  Book,  and  to  draw  a  certain  element  of  life 
from  it.  Here  in  the  Book  is  the  oldest  history, 
hoary  with  age;  and  here  in  the  scholarly  world 
are  books  written  by  strong  men  who  have  spent 
money  and  time  and  talent  in  digging  up  the  old 
records  out  of  the  earth,  and  verifying  these  simple 
statements  of  the  old  Book.  Here  in  the  Book 
is  a  system  of  political  economy,  or  at  least  the 
principles  of  that  science;  and  here  in  the  col- 
lege libraries  and  halls  are  hundreds  of  books  on 
that  subject  which  work  out  and  ampHfy  the 
principles  found  here.  Students  of  the  perplex- 
ing land  question  will  find  a  simple  solution  pro- 
posed here;  though  it  is  not  a  solution  that  am- 
bitious men  with  selfish  desires  are  very  likely 
to  adopt  for  their  own  holdings. 

The  laws  of  Moses  have  come  to  be  the  foun- 
tain of  all  modern  as  well  as  earlier  jurisprudence. 


66  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Behind  Blackstone  and  Coke  and  other  great 
legal  authorities  is  Moses.  They  build  upon  his 
foundations.  The  strongest  nations  of  to-day- 
have  the  primary  principles  of  the  Mosaic  code 
interwoven  inextricably  into  their  common  law, 
and  so  into  their  life. 

A  former  United  States  Senator  from  one  of  the 
northwestern  States,  noted  for  his  strength  as  a 
legal  advocate,  has  told  the  story  of  his  early 
ambition  to  be  a  lawyer.  As  a  youth  he  had 
gone  tremblingly  to  a  famous  lawyer  and  made 
application  to  read  law  in  his  ofhce.  To  his  utter 
astonishment  the  lawyer  said  brusquely,  ''Can 
you  recite  the  Bible  through,  sir?"  The  young 
man  managed  to  stammer  out  his  astonished  "  No. " 
"Well,"  the  old  judge  said  shortly,  "go  and 
memorize  the  Bible  and  then  you  may  come  and 
read  law  here."  And  out  the  youth  went  in  an 
utter  daze,  wondering  what  the  Bible  had  to  do 
with  reading  law.  But  the  coveted  permission 
depended  upon  that,  so  he  set  to  work  and  did 
commit  great  portions  of  the  Book.  He  became 
famous  as  a  lawyer  both  within  and  beyond  the 
bounds  of  his  own  State,  and  frequently  said  he 
realized  in  the  after-years  what  a  foundation  for 
his  legal  knowledge  and  practice  was  laid  in  that 
early  bibhcal  study. 

The  best  books  on  moral  philosophy,  on  sani- 
tation and  personal  health,  on  shrewd  business 
ethics,  draw  their  inspiration  from  the  princi- 
ples first  found  here.  Its  language  and  imagery 
honeycomb  the  finest  literature  of  the  EngHsh 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  67 

tongue.  If  one  were  to  cut  out  of  Shakespeare 
and  Tennyson  and  the  other  great  English  poets 
all  allusions  taken  from  this  Book,  scarcely  a 
page  of  their  writings  would  escape  the  scissors. 

When  Benjamin  Franklin  was  ambassador  at 
the  French  court  he  was  one  of  a  circle  of  scholarly 
men  who  met  frequently  to  discuss  literary  mat- 
ters. It  was  their  custom  to  bring  to  the  gather- 
ings choice,  rare  bits  of  literature  to  be  read  and 
discussed.  It  was  a  time  when  scepticism  was 
rampant  and  the  Bible  a  hated  hook.  One  day 
Franklin  said:  "Gentlemen,  I  have  found  a  rare 
gem  of  literary  beauty,  which  I  have  brought  to 
read  to  you."  They  listened  keenly  as  he  read 
through  the  little  book  of  Ruth,  making  slight 
changes  that  its  Biblical  identity  might  not  be 
suspected.  As  he  finished  they  were  all  enthu- 
siastic in  praise  of  its  simple  beauty,  and  inquired 
eagerly  where  he  had  found  such  a  choice  gem. 
He  dryly  said  he  had  found  it  in  a  book  called 
the  Bible. 

There  is  one  feature  of  this  Book  that  is  most 
peculiar,  and  that  is  its  scientific  accuracy.  It  is 
not  written,  of  course,  in  any  part  from  a  scien- 
tific standpoint.  Its  language  is  never  scientific, 
but  is  just  the  simple  language  of  the  com- 
mon people.  But  it  always  -fits  in  with  well- 
attested  scientific  facts.  There  is  no  jarring, 
no  slips,  no  glaring  breaks,  no  language  ever  used 
that  does  not  fit  in  with  the  matured  statements 
of  science.  When  we  recall  the  statement  com- 
monly made  that  any  technical  book  as  much  as 


68  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

ten  years  old  must  be  thrown  aside  as  worthless, 
because  of  the  constant  change  in  the  state  of 
knowledge,  one  begins  to  realize  and  appreciate 
what  a  tremendous  peculiarity  this  is. 

But  the  main  thing  that  gets  hold  of  a  man 
reading  thoughtfully  here,  and  then  grips  him 
hard  and  holds  him  in  its  tight  grip,  is  the  ideals 
of  the  Book,  wonderful  high  moral  ideals  such 
as  he  finds  nowhere  else.  Its  conception  of  God, 
of  the  worth  and  nobiUty  of  man,  its  insistent 
ideals  of  right,  and  of  love  as  the  standard  in  life, 
are  such  as  can  be  found  nowhere  else.  They 
are  such  as  to  swing  the  earnest  man,  eager  for  a 
pure,  strong  life,  clear  off  his  feet. 

And  these  ideals  are  held  to  strenuously  in  the 
midst  of  the  world's  worst  sin.  Its  exposure  of 
sin,  of  insincerity,  and  selfishness  in  all  phases 
and  forms  is  terrific,  and  its  hatred  of  them  more 
intensely  terrific  still.  Its  heroes  are  praised, 
but  always  with  the  plainest  unvarnished  deal- 
ings with  their  faults  and  weaknesses. 

The  Man. 


But  the  great  fact  of  the  Book  is  a  personality 
that  looms  up  large  through  all  of  its  pages. 
From  beginning  to  end  there  is  one  striking 
personality  dominant.  All  through  the  older 
portion  He  is  coming.  Men  fail,  the  best  men 
with  the  best  training  fail,  the  kingdoms  fall, 
the  kingdom  and  people  about  whom  the  Book 
is  woven  fail  most  miserably,  but  there  is  some 
One  coming  who  will  fill  out  the  highest  expecta- 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  69 

tions.  In  the  Gospels  He  has  come;  in  the  later 
books  all  thought  is  utterly  absorbed  in  Him;  in 
the  last  book,  the  climax,  His  coming  glory  floods 
the  pages.     He  is  the  heart  of  the  Book. 

Let  me  gather  up  a  few  facts  about  this  Man. 
I  will  pack  them  into  small  compass  that  they 
may  be  grasped  together  He  was  bom  in  ob- 
scurity and  in  poverty,  cradled  in  a  stable, 
brought  up  in  a  country  village  whose  good 
moral  character  was  seriously  questioned,  had 
no  contact  with  the  schools  of  His  time,  being 
home  trained,  never  travelled  outside  of  a  bit  of 
territory  about  seventy  by  one  hundred  miles,  was 
born  of  a  people  peculiarly  exclusive  and  intense, 
had  access  to  no  literature  except  the  very  limited 
literature  6f  His  peculiarly  seclusive  people.  Yet 
He  developed  a  character  singularly  perfect. 

There  was  in  Him  the  utter  absence  of  evil, 
and  the  presence  of  all  known  good.  He  was 
sterner  than  the  sternest  man  in  denouncing 
wrong,  and  tenderer  than  the  tenderest  woman 
in  ministering  to  others.  He  never  uttered  an 
apology.  In  that  He  stands  alone  of  all  men  of 
whom  we  have  any  record.  He  said  He  was 
without  sin,  and  by  consent  of  His  enemies,  in- 
cluding the  man  who  betrayed  Him  and  the  man 
who  condemned  Him,  as  well  as  those  who  knew 
Him  most  intimately.  He  was  without  fault.  His 
life  for  those  few  years  of  pubUc  work  was  liter- 
ally spent  out  in  glad,  tireless  service  of  the  most 
practical  sort  for  those  around.  He  gave  Himself 
to  the  needs  of  needy  men  with  an  utter  self- 


70  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

forgetting  abandon.  Night  and  day,  cease- 
lessly, tirelessly,  He  ministered  to  men,  feeding 
the  hungry,  healing  the  sick,  relieving  the  dis- 
tressed and  demonized,  and  even  raising  the  dead ; 
wMle  He  had  at  times  no  time  so  much  as  to  eat, 
no  home  to  call  His  own,  and  no  funds  upon 
which  to  draw,  being  ministered  to  in  personal 
needs  by  friends. 

His  teachings  are  marked  by  an  originality,  a 
sweep  of  conception,  and  a  freshness  never  ap- 
proached before  nor  since,  and  wholly  at  variance 
with  His  human  origin  and  His  surroundings. 
They  have  become  and  are  to-day  the  accepted 
standard  for  purity  of  conception,  high  ideals  of 
life,  boldness  of  originality,  stupendousness  of 
sweep,  and  simplicity  of  expression. 

And  then  will  you  please  mark  keenly  His 
method  of  influencing  men  ?  The  world's  greatest 
leaders  and  conquerors  have  been  soldiers. 
Alexander,  Julius  Caesar,  and  Napoleon  ruled  by 
force,  their  great  personality  and  power  finding  ex- 
pression at  the  sword's  point.  Others  have  swayed 
men  by  the  books  they  wrote.  Jesus  influenced 
men  by  the  power  of  His  teaching,  of  His  thought, 
but  far  more  by  the  strangely  simple  power  of  His 
life,  by  the  touch  of  His  personality  alone. 

The  extent  of  his  influence  is  startling  even  to 
this  day,  though  so  familiar.  He  lived  for  only 
thirty-three  years.  His  public  career  was  but  for 
a  tenth  as  long  a  time,  only  about  three  years  and 
a  bit  more.  He  was  put  to  death  ignominiously 
and  cruelly,  and  laid  away  in  a  tomb.     He  left  no 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  71 

book  behind,  and  formed  no  organization,  only  a 
little  handful  of  eleven  unschooled  peasants  whom 
He  had  associated  closely  with  Himself  in  His  life 
and  work.  Yet  within  three  centuries  He  had 
changed  the  Roman  calendar,  which  was  practi- 
cally the  world's  calendar.  To-day  the  world's 
calendars  with  small  exception  swing  about  the 
pivot  of  His  birth.  All  events  of  history  are  lo- 
cated by  their  relation  to  Him,  their  occurrence 
"before  Christ"  or  in  a  given  "year  of  our  Lord." 
The  nations  that  call  themselves  by  His  name 
are  the  dominant  nations  of  the  earth.  The  life 
of  the  whole  world  has  known  a  new  life  dating 
from  His  coming.  His  conception  of  life,  personal 
life  and  social  life,  is  regarded  throughout  the 
world  a§  the  highest.  To-day  more  than  ever 
He  is  dominant  in  the  life  of  the  earth.  Of  Him 
the  old  German,  Jean  Paul  Frederick  Richter, 
said  in  words  that  have  grown  very  familiar,  quot- 
ing freely,  that  "He,  being  the  mightiest  among 
the  holy,  and  the  holiest  among  the  mighty,  lifted 
mth  His  pierced  hands  the  gates  of  empires  off 
their  hinges,  turned  the  streams  of  centuries  out 
of  their  channels,  and  to-day  rules  the  world." 

Now  please  mark  with  keenest  thought  what 
this  man  Jesus  said  about  Himself.  This  is  the 
most  critical  part  of  all  to  study  regarding  Him. 
He  claimed  to  be  the  Son  of  God  in  a  sense  that 
nobody  else  was;  before  His  earthly  life  He  had 
been  with  God  in  closest  intimacy,  known  only 
by  Himself;  He  had  come  down  to  the  earth  to 
tell  men  about  God ;  when  His  errand  to  the  earth 


72  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

was  done  He  would  go  back  again  to  be  with  His 
Father,  as  He  had  been  from  before  the  beginning 
of  time.  Let  the  thoughtful  man  note  very  sharply 
that  this  is  the  claim  Jesus  made,  and  insistently 
made  for  Himself  in  the  face  of  bitterest  opposition. 

Such  a  claim  clearly  stamps  its  maker  as  one 
of  three  sorts  of  men.  Either  He  was  a  fanatic, 
self -deluded  with  regard  to  Himself;  or  else  He 
was  not  a  good  man,  but  purposely  said  what 
He  knew  to  be  not  so;  or  else — He  was  what  He 
claimed  to  be.  The  purity  of  His  life,  unap- 
proached  by  any  other  man,  together  with  His 
constant,  tireless,  self-sacrificing  service  on  behalf 
of  others,  clearly  rules  out  the  supposition  that  He 
was  not  good.  And  all  men  have  agreed  in  His 
goodness. 

That  He  was  a  fanatic,  self -deceived  with  regard 
to  Himself,  swept  off  His  mental  balance  by  the 
high  fervor  of  His  spirit  and  hot  rush  of  His  en- 
thusiasm, would  seem  the  much  likelier  suppo- 
sition of  these  two.  Yet  the  wisdom  of  His 
teachings,  equalled  by  none  other,  recognized  and 
acknowledged  freely  by  all;  His  rare  mental  calm- 
ness and  poise  under  all  circumstances,  including 
the  most  trying;  and  the  remarkable  clearness  and 
sanity  of  His  judgment  effectually  dispose  of  this 
supposition. 

It  has  been  freely  said,  of  late  especially,  that 
these  followers  of  His,  whose  accounts  make  up 
the  Gospel  records,  in  their  enthusiastic  loyalty 
to  Him,  claim  more  for  Him  in  their  writing  than 
He   actually   claimed   for   Himself.     Yet    be   it 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  73 

keenly  marked  there,  that  it  was  this  claim  of  His 
that  led  to  the  bitterness  of  the  enmity  against 
Him,  and  to  its  final  ending  in  His  being  put  to 
death.  And  further,  these  records  are  our  only 
source  of  original  information  about  Jesus  and 
the  stupendousness  of  His  character.  The  un- 
rivalled place  He  occupies  in  history  and  in  all 
the  race  of  men  agrees  fully  with  the  claim  put 
forth  for  Him  in  these  four  small  books. 

Now  if  these  two  suppositions  be  shut  out  there 
is  left  only  this,  the  most  stupendous  of  the  three ^ 
that  Jesus  actually  was  what  He  claimed  to  be. 
And  the  severest  criticism  that  can  be  made  of 
our  scholarly  sceptical  friends  comes  in  just  here. 
They  agree  about  His  life,  its  pure,  positive  good- 
ness; Hi^  teachings,  their  unapproached  and 
unapproachable  wisdom ;  the  rare  sanity  of  His 
judgment,  and  the  sublimity  of  His  conceptions. 
The  sceptics  of  sceptical  France,  the  rational- 
ists of  rationalistic  Germany,  the  worldly  men  of 
all  the  world,  all  practically  agree  here.  Yet  they 
have  not  accepted  what  He  Himself  believed  about 
Himself.  Surely  if  what  they  do  believe  about 
Him  is  true,  it  is  altogether  logical  to  go  on,  and 
believe  what  He  Himself  believed  about  Himself. 

The  Call  0}  the  Christ. 


Now  please  note  very  keenly  what  it  was  upon 
which  Jesus  laid  the  chief  emphasis  regarding 
Himself — it  was  upon  His  death.  From  His  own 
point  of  view  the  climax  of  His  life  was  His  death. 
That  last  year  He  continually  referred  to  it,  and 


74  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

to  its  meaning  for  men.  As  the  shadows  of  death 
darkened  down  about  Him,  and  its  chill  waters 
deepened  in  their  nearness,  He  asked  that  all 
who  loved  Him  would  remember  His  death. 
The  Church  has  never  forgotten  that  request  of 
the  last  night.  However  at  times  the  emphasis 
of  her  teachers  may  have  swung  away  from  it, 
the  simple  memorial  meal  from  the  Master's 
own  hands  has  brought  out  constantly  into 
boldest  relief  His  great  death.  Every  week 
untold  thousands  of  many  creeds  and  tongues 
and  shadings  of  behef  reverently  bow  in  the 
presence  of  the  simple  bread  and  wine,  and  re- 
member that  Jesus  died. 

The  chief  personality  of  this  Book,  and  of  all 
history,  is  this  Man.  The  chief  event  of  this 
Man's  Hfe,  in  His  own  thought  of  it,  was  His 
death.  He  declared  that  for  a  specific  purpose 
He  deliberately  yielded  to  death.  The  whole 
presumption  is  in  favor  of  our  believing  that  if  He 
had  not  yielded  Himself  voluntarily  up  to  His 
enemies  He  would  never  have  died.  He  would 
never  even  have  known  any  of  the  common  weak- 
ness of  increasing  years;  only  a  full  maturing  of 
His  powers.  For  the  element  of  sin  which  works 
weakness  and  death  was  lacking  in  Him. 

This  puts  sharper  emphasis  yet  upon  the  sig- 
nificance of  His  purpose  in  consenting  to  death. 
No  fact  stands  out  more  plainly  in  the  Gospel 
stories  than  this,  that  He  yielded  to  death  of  His 
own  accord  for  a  great  purpose.  The  time  of  His 
death,  the  fact  of  it,  the  manner  of  it,  were  con- 


The  Problem  of  Doubt  75 

trolled  by  the  way  in  which  He  repeatedly  avoided 
His  enemies  until  He  chose  to  yield  to  their  will. 

What  was  the  purpose  of  His  death?  His 
point  of  view  in  yielding  to  it  may  be  put  simply 
in  this  way:  all  men  have  sinned;  the  natural, 
logical  result  of  sin  is  death ;  it  grieved  the  Father 
much  that  man  had  gotten  into  such  a  bad  fix; 
out  of  love  the  Father  sent  Him  down,  and  He 
came  down  to  die  that  so  man  might  be  saved 
from  dying.  Any  man  and  every  man  who  is 
willing  may  accept  Jesus'  death  as  his  own,  and 
instead  of  his  own.  Whoever  does  can  so  be  free 
from  sin's  power  to  work  death  in  him. 

But  there  is  more  than  this  in  Jesus'  under- 
standing of  the  matter.  He  did  more  than  die. 
He  lived -a  pure,  sinless  life  before  His  death,  and 
He  lived  a  new  kind  of  life  after  His  death.  He 
said  He  would  send  down  the  Holy  Spirit  to  live 
in  each  man  who  was  willing.  That  Spirit  would 
bum  out  the  bad,  make  a  man  hate  sin,  and  give 
power  to  resist  sin.  He  would  work  out  within 
a  man  the  pure  life  of  Jesus,  and  more,  the  new 
kind  of  life  that  Jesus  lived  after  His  death — a 
life  lived  on  the  earth  but  not  subject  to  its  power, 
controlled  from  above.  This  new  life  w^ould  be 
lived  in  part  only,  for  there  was  no  promise  of 
bodily  death  being  removed ;  but  in  a  coming  day 
it  also  was  to  be  gone  and  that  new  kind  of  life 
lived  fully.  This  was  Jesus'  point  of  view,  and 
His  purpose  in  yielding  to  death. 

There  is  a  response  to  this  in  human  experience 
that  is  remarkable.     There  is  that  within  a  man's 


76  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

need  that  answers  to  this  plan  of  Jesus.  It  is 
very  common  to-day,  in  some  quarters,  to  find 
great  emphasis  laid  upon  the  example  of  Jesus, 
and  little  or  none  upon  His  death.  Let  our 
friend  who  exploits  the  example  of  Jesus  as 
the  chief  thing  in  His  wonderful  life,  ignoring 
the  sacrificial  element  in  His  death,  let  him 
try  honestly  to  follow  that  great  example  fuUy, 
with  no  apologies  for  his  own  weakness.  And 
if  he  is  frank  and  honest  he  wiU  be  com- 
pelled to  admit  that  it  takes  more  than  example 
to  change  a  man.  There  needs  to  be  a  very 
positive  power  put  into  a  man  by  some  One  else. 
It  must  be  a  power  with  the  force  of  moral  dyna- 
mite, if  some  things  such  as  impurity  and  selfish- 
ness are  to  be  put  out,  and  kept  out,  and  certain 
other  things  such  as  purity  and  strength  and  sweet, 
strong  unselfishness  to  be  put  in. 

Jesus  asked  that  He  might  be  accepted  as  man's 
Saviour,  a  Saviour  from  the  result  of  sin,  and  from 
its  great  power.  This  was  His  earnest  appeal 
to  men  when  down  here  among  us.  It  is  the 
thrilling  appeal  of  these  four  simple  Gospels  to 
every  man.  It  is  to-day  the  eager  cry  of  Jesus' 
heart  to  each  of  us.  A  man  in  earnest  can  easily 
beHeve  enough  to  respond  with  his  whole  life  to 
that  cry.  It  means  a  new  life,  with  new  motives, 
and,  infinitely  more,  new  power.  And  as  a  man 
quietly,  resolutely  steps  into  this  path,  new  Hght 
begins  to  break  in  from  the  east,  and  then  more, 
and  yet  more,  until  some  day,  it  is  promised, 
there  will  be  the  full  shining  of  the  sun. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  AMBITION, 

OR 

WHAT  IS  BEST  WORTH  WHILE 


The  World's  Under-Master. 

God  Needs  Men. 

The  Brooding  Need. 

"Forgetting,  I  Press  Forward." 

A  Double  Trinity. 

A  High  Aim. 

A  Strange  Coat-of-arms. 

A  Higher  Aim 

The  Man  Waiting  to  Go  Along. 


The  Problem  of  Ambition 


The  World's  Under -Master, 

If  a  man  is  climbing  a  mountain  he  needs  some 
road  marks,  or  an  object  to  guide  by,  else  he  will 
not  get  anyw^here.  He  may  enjoy  the  climb,  and 
get  some  pretty  glimpses  of  scenery,  but  he  never 
reaches  the  top,  and  is  apt  to  lose  his  way.  If  he 
is  in  a  large  crowd  he  needs  to  have  some  definite 
aim  or  he  will  lose  himself  in  the  crowd,  and 
come  to  the  end  of  the  day  tired  out  and  with 
nothing  done.  If  he  is  crossing  the  sea,  or  the 
desert,  he  needs  a  compass  to  guide  by,  or  he  is 
likely  to  lose  his  life. 

And  if  he  is  simply  trying  to  make  his  life  count 
for  what  it  was  intended  to,  he  needs  something 
to  guide  by.  For  sometimes  the  path  is  hidden 
and  overgrown.  And  ofttimes  there  is  the  con- 
fusion of  a  big  crowd,  with  shuffling  feet  making 
both  dust  and  noise.  And  many  times  the  path 
seems  as  difficult  to  find  as  on  the  pathless  sea  or 
desert.  And  a  good  many  seem  to  go  astray 
and  spend  the  day  of  Ufe  on  the  less  important 
things,  and  then  towards  its  twilight,  feel  sharp 
twinges  of  regret.  So  that  we  want  to  talk  to- 
gether quietly  a  bit  about  the  North  Star  of  life, 
79 


8o  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

the  compass,  the  true  road-marks,  that  we  may 
aim  straight,  and  travel  steady,  and  reach 
the  top. 

There  are  three  great  forces  in  the  world 
of  matter,  fire  and  wind  and  water.  And  the 
greatest  of  these  is  fire.  There  are  two  great 
forces  in  the  world  of  men,  organization  and  the 
individual;  a  group  of  men  acting  together  and 
the  man  himself  in  the  group;  and  the  greater  of 
these  is  the  individual,  the  man.  The  organiza- 
tion is  dependent  upon  the  men  composing  it,  and 
even  more  upon  the  man  who  is  the  leader.  It  is 
limited  to'  the  things  upon  which  these  men  can 
agree.  The  more  men  there  are,  the  fewer  the 
things  on  which  they  will  agree.  The  organiza- 
tion is  a  composite,  not  of  the  men,  but  of  so  much 
of  them  as  can  get  together  in  agreement  on  a 
particular  subject.  By  far  the  greater  of  the  two 
is  the  man. 

The  world  of  matter  belongs  under  man's 
thumb.  It  was  given  to  him  to  subdue  and  de- 
velop and  control.  The  greatest  force  in  the 
world  of  matter  and  of  man  is  a  man.  The 
greatest  factor  in  human  life  is  a  man,  with  clear 
brain  and  of  fine  grain,,  with  clear  light  in  his  eye, 
and  the  hue  of  health  on  his  cheek,  with  poised 
judgment  and  rugged  will,  with  sweet  spirit  and 
pure  heart. 

Every  great  movement  in  history  has  revolved 
about  a  man  as  its  pivot,  or  found  embodiment 
in  him.  To  recall  the  great  invasion  of  southern 
Europe  by  the  hordes  of  northern  barbarians  is 


The  Problem  of  Ambition         8 1 

to  think  of  Alaric,  the  foremost  of  all  their  leaders, 
sacking  the  world's  capital.  To  think  of  the 
second  most  stupendous  movement  among  the 
peoples  of  the  earth,  the  Reformation,  is  to  see 
Luther,  the  greatest  of  its  leaders.  The  French 
Revolution  found  its  embodiment  in  Mirabeau. 
To  speak  of  law  and  legal  codes  is  to  call  up 
Moses,  chief  est  of  all;  and  of  autocratic  govern- 
ment, Julius  Csesar,  whose  name  still  survives  in 
the  titles  of  the  Russian  Czar  and  the  Ger- 
man Kaiser. 

God  Needs  Men. 

When  God  would  do  anything  among  men 
He  chooses^  and  uses  a  man.  When  He  wanted 
to  grow  a  nation  that  would  stand  for  the  highest 
ideals  of  revealed  religion,  even  as  later  Greece 
stood  for  letters,  and  Rome  for  the  power  of  or- 
ganization. He  chose  a  man  up  in  the  Euphrates 
Valley.  And  about  this  man,  Abraham,  He 
began  slowly  to  build  up  that  strange  people 
which  has  had  the  greatest  influence  of  any  upon 
the  nations  of  the  earth.  When  that  nation,  not 
yet  fully  born  as  a  nation,  was  in  sore  danger  of 
being  throttled  in  its  birth.  He  took  a  man, 
Moses,  chosen  from  his  birth,  graduate  in  the 
highest  learning  of  earth's  best  schools,  with  a 
postgraduate  degree  from  the  University  of  Arabia, 
and  who  has  left  the  indelible  marks  of  his  native 
gifts  and  special  training  upon  that  people,  and 
upon  the  Ufe  of  the  whole  race. 

With  deepest  reverence  be  it  said,  when  God 
6 


8  2  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

would  redeem  a  world  He  sent  a  Man.  That 
Man  was  as  truly  a  man  as  though  not  infinitely 
more.  Yet  His  character  clearly  marks  Him  off 
from  all  other  men.  When  He  would  awaken 
the  life  of  the  whole  earth  by  awakening  its  head, 
He  chose  a  man,  Luther.  One  cannot  think  of 
that  vast  moral  and  mental  upheaval  of  Europe 
which  took  so  long  to  reach  its  flood  tide  without 
having  his  vision  filled  with  the  figure  of  the 
German  giant,  and  about  him  grouped,  through 
the  years  of  that  movement  of  staggering,  re- 
generating power,  such  men  as  scholarly  Wycliff 
in  England,  brave  Huss  in  Bohemia,  eloquent 
Savonarola  in  Italy,  the  keen  and  logical  states- 
man Calvin  in  Geneva,  and  rugged  Knox  in 
Scotland. 

When  He  would  build  up  a  new  nation  on  the 
westernmost  continent  to  stand  for  liberty,  He 
chose  the  stalwart  Virginian,  Washington.  And 
when  that  nation  itself  was  to  be  taught  liberty, 
and  held  together  in  its  hour  of  severest  testing 
as  a  nation.  He  chose  the  Enghsh  giant  of  Ken- 
tucky and  Illinois,  Lincoln.  And  later  yet, 
when  He  would  teach  the  privileges  of  liberty  to 
those  whose  only  birthright  was  slavery.  He  chose 
a  black  Washington  for  the  rare,  difficult  task. 

But  one  must  never  let  the  leaders  make  him 
forget  the  faithful  common  folk  without  whom  no 
leader  could  do  his  work.  The  common  every- 
day life,  not  told  by  the  history  writer,  is  depen- 
dent even  more  upon  the  individual  man,  whether 
it  be  the  manning  of  the  ship,  or  the  running  of 


The  Problem  of  Ambition         83 

the  railroad,  or  the  weaving  of  life's  common  web 
anywhere.  Success  and  happiness  depend  upon 
the  one  man,  in  the  thick  of  things,  quietly  doing 
the  commonplace  things,  with  an  uncommon, 
faithful  steadiness. 

The  Brooding  Need. 

The  greatest  need  of  the  world  is  men.  The 
spirit  of  organization  which  has  seized  hold  of 
present-day  Hfe  and  specialized  it  so  highly  in 
every  direction  makes  that  need  greater  to-day 
than  ever.  The  organization  is  no  stronger  mor- 
ally than  the  man  in  control.  It  is  no  stronger 
in  abihty  than  the  men  who  serve  it.  And  one 
never  knows  upon  what  one  man  the  whole  in- 
tricate machinery  may  depend  and  revolve.  The 
world  needs  men  to-day  as  never  before.  There 
are  movements  for  higher  ideals  in  national  affairs 
waiting  for  men  to  lead  them. 

There  are  great  movements  in  the  people's  re- 
ligious Hfe  waiting  for  the  men  who  can  embody 
them,  and  teach,  and  lead.  And  the  need  always 
finds  the  man.  There  is  a  law  of  affinity  that 
brings  them  together.  The  need  brooding  over 
the  face  of  the  people  seems  to  bring  forth  the 
man  imbued  with  its  own  spirit,  to  be  its  cham- 
pion, though  the  higher  in  the  scale  of  Hfe,  the 
longer  time  does  it  take  for  the  maturity  that  finds 
a  perfect  birth ;  man  takes  longest  of  any  of  the 
animal  creation,  finer  grained  men  still  longer, 
and  leaders  longest  yet.  The  need  disregards 
all  questions  of  birth  and  blood,  training  of  the 


84  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

schools  and  social  surroundings,  so  dear  to  human 
hearts,  and  by  an  unerring  intuition  goes  straight 
to  its  man,  and  patiently  waits  till  he  be  full 
ready. 

^^ Forgetting,  I  Press  Forward.''^ 


one  meaning.  There  is  a  cheaper  use  of  it  for  the 
male  of  the  human  race,  with  the  usual  supply 
of  organs,  and  the  usual  stock  of  limbs  to  walk 
and  work  with,  but  with  no  high  controlling  aim. 
And  then  there  is  the  nobler  use  of  it  for  that  fine 
spirit,  of  either  sex,  which  sees  the  high  aim  of  life, 
and  bends  every  bit  of  strength  steadily  towards 
reaching  it. 

I  want  to  have  the  boldness  to  talk  a  bit  about 
a  man,  the  ideal  man.  In  a  day  when  the  practi- 
cal is  seizing  the  Hnes  and  driving  hard  that  word 
ideal  is  misunderstood  and  abused.  There  is 
nothing  so  really  practical  as  the  truly  ideal. 
Ideal  does  not  mean  visionary  in  the  weak  sense. 
It  means  aiming  high ;  no,  it  means  aiming  high- 
est. It  has  not  gotten  up  there,  but  it  is  reaching, 
stretching  up.  It  is  dissatisfied  with  anything  a 
whit  less  than  the  highest  level.  Its  favorite 
motto  is  "Forgetting,  I  press  forward."  For- 
getting the  things  behind,  I  press  toward  the  mark. 

The  victories  are  forgotten^in  the  eager  reach 
for  greater.  The  temptations  and  falls  and  fail- 
ures are  forgotten  except  as  warnings  in  the  on- 
ward push.  The  ideal  man  is  he  who  has  a  vision 
of  the  mountain  top,  and  is  sweetly,  earnestly. 


The  Problem  of  Ambition       85 

untiringly,  unflinchingly  making  every  bit  of 
strength  and  time  and  every  circumstance  bend 
towards  reaching  it.  And  who  resolutely  pushes 
aside  everything  that  would  hinder  or  not  help. 

We  want  in  our  talk  to-day  to  get  a  bit,  a  good 
clear  bit,  of  a  vision  of  that  mountain  top,  to 
reach  which  is  the  thing  best  and  most  worth 
while.  It  will  only  be  a  bit,  though,  at  best.  For 
every  man  must  see  his  own  vision.  And  the 
vision  increases  in  size  and  clearness  as  one 
climbs.  The  man  we  are  talking  about  just  now 
is  a  trinity.  There  are  three  of  him  tied  up  to- 
gether. The  three  are  in  a  scale  ascending  from 
lowest  to  highest.  At  the  lowxst  there  is  a  body; 
yet  though  lowest  it  is  never  low ;  at  the  lowest  it 
is  high.     The  lowest  rung  of  this  ladder  is  high. 

A  step  up  is  the  mind.  Every  man  has  a  mind, 
though  quite  a  number  do  not  seem  to  have  sus- 
pected that  fact.  It  is  peculiar  in  its  make-up ; 
there  is  a  cold-storage  room  for  facts ;  a  photog- 
rapher's highly  sensitized  plate  for  receiving  im- 
pressions of  all  that  comes;  and  a  judge  sitting 
above  all  to  weigh  and  sift  and  give  decisions  and 
guide  all  below.  And  highest  of  all  is  the  spirit 
which  lives  in  the  body,  thinks  through  the  mind, 
and  holds  the  sceptre  of  the  life. 

The  true  man  aims  steadily  to  have  a  trained 
body,  its  powers  matured  or  rather  maturing, 
disciplined  to  obey  and  under  full  control.  It 
is  to  be  kept  steadily  in  its  place  of  a  faithful 
servant.  That  is  a  very  high  place,  to  serve 
faithfully  the  purpose  intended.     He  does  not  cod- 


86  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

die  his  body,  nor  abuse  it ;  he  is  not  heedless  of 
its  requirements ;  and,  above  all,  he  is  not  igno- 
rant of  its  nature  and  needs,  and  does  not  allow 
it  to  reverse  the  true  order  and  become  master. 
This  man  has  not  attained,  but  he  is  reaching, 
and  this  is  his  aim. 

A  Double  Trinity, 

On  the  next  higher  level  is  another  trinity,  a 
trinity  within  a  trinity,  for  the  mind  is  that. 
Through  the  five  in-gates  of  eye  and  ear,  taste 
and  touch  and  smell,  come  in  the  impressions, 
the  information,  the  facts  that  are  put  away. 
The  intellect  is  the  mind's  cold  storage  for  gather- 
ing and  holding  all  that  comes.  It  should  be 
kept  clear,  cool,  and  calm,  ever  alertly  Hstening, 
keen  for  facts,  gathering,  weighing,  sifting,  sorting 
and  pigeonholing  them  for  use. 

Then  there  is  the  power  to  feel,  the  faculty  that 
is  impressed  by  all  that  comes,  and  that  gives  ex- 
pression to  what  is  felt,  the  emotional  nature. 
It  should  be  kept  soft  so  as  to  record  quickly  and 
accurately  all  that  comes  in.  It  properly  is  sus- 
ceptible, plastic;  on  the  one  hand  not  stupid, 
nor  on  the  other  overexcited  or  stale.  There  is 
perhaps  less  training  of  this  faculty,  except  nar- 
rowly in  strictly  professional  studies,  as  music  or 
art  or  medical  skill,  than  of  either  of  the  other 
two  powers  of  the  mind.  It  should  not  be  re- 
pressed, and  should  not  be  dominant.  Yet  to 
either  one  of  those  extremes  does  the  pendulum 
usually  swing. 


The  Problem  of  Ambition       87 

There  is  a  tendency  among  men  to  repress  the 
feelings,  especially  the  finer  feelings.  There  is 
a  tendency  among  women  to  yield  unduly  to  the 
feelings  and  allow  them  to  rule.  Both  are  ex- 
tremes to  be  carefully  avoided.  A  tear  may  be 
as  manly  as  rugged  strength.  And  repressed 
emotion  may  be  as  womanly  as  the  finer  fibre  of 
woman's  strength.  The  tears  that  stand  simply 
for  an  emotion  spending  itself  out  are  hurtful; 
they  do  but  wear  away  the  strength  to  help  that 
somebody  needs.  The  tears  that  tell  of  a  motive 
touched  and  stirred  into  action  in  behalf  of  that 
which  called  them  forth  are  beauteous  with  rain- 
bow light. 

The  duty  of  the  feelings  is  to  note  accurately 
all  that  comes  in  and  report  fully  to  the  will  above. 
One  should  aim  to  discipline  his  emotional  nature 
that  it  may  serve  him  fully.  The  man  one  should 
be  has  not  reached  his  aim  here,  but  he  is  steadily 
stretching  up  towards  it. 

Combined  with  these  is  the  third  and  highest 
member  of  the  mental  trinity,  the  will.  The  will 
is  the  king  here;  the  judge  on  the  highest  bench 
from  which  no  appeal  may  be  taken.  It  is  the 
autocrat  on  the  throne,  with  no  constitution  to 
limit  its  sway.  There  are  various  words  used  for 
the  will:  purpose  is  the  aim  or  direction  of  the 
will ;  determination  is  the  quality  of  the  will,  tell- 
ing how  much  or  how  little  the  purpose  may  be 
depended  upon ;  jorce  is  the  driving  power  of  the 
will,  telling  how  much  pressure  or  how  little  may 
be  brought  into  play  in  getting  the  will's  will  done. 


88  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

The  man  who  would  be  true  to  his  being  keeps 
all  the  avenues  of  approach  open  to  receive  all 
there  is,  his  intellect  quietly  and  steadily  at  its 
work,  the  feeUngs  sensitive  but  well  in  hand,  the 
will  Hstening  to  its  servants  and  ruling  fairly  over 
all  with  a  gentle  but  very  firm  hand. 

Then  distinctly  above  both  of  these  is  the  spirit, 
the  living  spirit  who  resides  within  this  organism 
of  body  and  mind,  animating  and  dominating  all 
the  powers  below,  and  all  the  Hfe. 

Such  a  man  is  ambitious,  in  the  true  sense  of 
that  great  word.  He  is  reaching  steadily  towards 
the  highest  levels.  Ambition  is  healthful.  I  do 
not  mean  the  feverish,  envy-eaten,  itching  some- 
thing commonly  called  by  that  name,  but  the 
simple  absorbing  desire  to  attain  the  highest. 

A  High  Aim. 

What  is  the  highest  ambition  that  such  an 
earnest  man  may  attain  to  ?  I  do  not  say  a  high 
ambition,  but  the  highest.  There  are  many 
high  targets  at  which  men  aim.  But  he  is  in  a 
bad  way  who  is  aiming  lower  than  the  highest. 
And  the  highest  includes  all  on  the  way  up. 
These  less-high  things  are  added  to  the  man  seek- 
ting  the  highest.  In  all  fairness  the  highest  must 
be  one  that  is  open  to  all  men,  and  possible  to  all. 
Leaving  untouched  many  low,  ignoble  answers, 
there  are  among  men  four  distinct  standards  of 
highest  ambition. 

There  are  many  who  believe  that  to  know 
is  the  highest    achievement.     Their  number  in- 


The  Problem  of  Ambition       89 

eludes  great,  worthy  names,  and  many  more 
equally  worthy  though  unnamed  by  the  crowd. 
And  to  know  is  a  great  aim.  Without  doubt 
knowledge  is  power.  It  has  literally  revolu- 
tionized all  thought,  and  all  methods  of  living. 
It  has  led  to  the  saving  of  numberless  lives,  and 
made  the  saved  lives  happier  too. 

It  is  good  to  know,  and  to  know  what  you  know, 
and,  modestly,  to  know  that  you  know  what  you 
know,  and  that  you  do  not  know  what  you  do  not 
know.  The  old  philosopher  of  Greece  declared 
this  to  be  the  true  knowledge.  But  the  man  who 
sets  this  before  him  as  the  chief  ambition  has  a 
keen  disappointment  ahead.  For  the  more  you 
know  the  less  you  know ;  that  is,  the  more  you 
know  of  that  you  do  not  know.  The  wilder  the 
circle  of  knowledge,  the  broader  is  the  swxep  of 
ignorance.  The  higher  the  hill  of  knowledge  you 
climb,  the  farther  views  you  get  of  what  you  do 
not  know.  Knowing  is  largely  a  means  of  dis- 
covering the  greatness  of  one's  ignorance.  If  a 
man  set  this  before  himself  as  the  highest  aim  he 
is  doomed  to  bitterest  disappointment. 

There  are  those  who  would  take  books  and 
manuscripts  and  like  means  of  research,  and,  in  im- 
itation of  the  old  Hebrews,  make  a  calf  of  them — 
shall  I  say  a  papier -mdche  calf  ? — and  say :  "  These 
be  thy  gods  that  shall  lead  out  of  every  Egypt  of 
slavery,  up  into  the  promised  land."  This  is  a 
comparatively  small,  but  very  select,  company 
of  choice  spirits. 

This  ambition  is  open  to  the  very  small  number. 


go  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Even  in  our  own  land,  where  the  public  school 
is  so  blessedly  common,  and  colleges  large  and 
small  of  all  grades  are  so  plentiful,  these  are  prac- 
tically, with  the  exception  of  the  lower  school 
grades,  for  the  few.  Only  a  small  proportion  of 
all  pubhc-school  pupils  get  as  far  as  the  high- 
school  grade,  a  yet  smaller  number  go  to  col- 
lege, and  many  of  these  do  not  complete  the 
course. 

The  world  never  knew  so  much,  so  many  differ- 
ent things  as  to-day,  and  never  was  more  igno- 
rant, profoundly  ignorant ;  that  is,  ignorant  in  the 
ignorance  of  the  great  masses  of  men,  and  igno- 
ant  too  of  the  simplest  knowledge  of  true  living. 
It  is  good  to  know,  and  to  know  the  most  and 
best,  and  to  know  thoroughly  what  is  known,  but 
plainly  knowledge  is  simply  a  road  through  to 
something  higher  up.     It  is  not  a  goal  in  itself. 

A  Strange  Coat-oj-arms. 

Then  there  is  a  great  company  whom  nobody 
ever  yet  has  numbered,  of  every  nation  and 
neighborhood,  who  plainly  beheve  that  to  have^ 
to  possess,  is  the  chief  est  thing  in  life.  The  taint 
of  this  infection  seems  to  have  gone  into  all  cir- 
cles. Nothing  escapes  its  unhallowed  itch.  It 
has  become  an  epidemic  in  our  own  country. 
The  old  Hebrews  had  but  one  calf.  Americans 
are  more  prodigal  with  their  calves  than  that. 
We  have  two  at  least,  the  paper  calf  already  spok- 
en of  and  the  golden;  though  the  golden  can  no 
longer  be  properly  spoken  of  as  a  calf.     It  is  a 


The  Problem  of  Ambition       9 1 

matured  bull,  but  not  of  the  polled  type;  it  has 
full-grown  horns. 

Money  is  extremely  handy  stuff  and  extremely 
dangerous  stuff  too.  How  rare  the  wisdom  that 
reckons  it  at  its  full  value — and  a  great,  untellable 
value  that  is — ^but  keeps  it  strictly  as  a  servant 
under  the  strong  thumb  of  a  high  purpose.  In  the 
partnership  of  a  pure,  holy  purpose  it  seems  al- 
most omnipotent.  But  when  it  is  allowed  to  grip 
both  lines  and  whip,  it  drives  a  man  such  a  pace 
as  to  use  up  all  his  strength,  and  leave  him  utterly 
winded  for  anything  else. 

Though  the  world  has  a  larger  supply  of  gold 
than  ever  before,  the  vast  majority  of  men  are 
poor,  strugglingly,  pitiably  poor.  While  there 
never  was' as  good  an  opportunity  as  to-day  for 
frugal,  steady  men  to  get  enough  and  to  spare,  the 
crowd  remains  needy.  And  gold  in  itself  is  apt 
both  to  be  and  to  bring  a  curse.  It  is  good  to 
have,  and  to  have  the  most  that  may  be  gotten 
honestly,  and  unselfishly,  and  without  the  fever  of 
it  getting  into  the  blood.  Its  possession  increases 
the  possible  power  of  a  man  enormously. 

Yet  if  getting  and  having  were  the  highest 
achievement  it  would  mean  that  man's  highest 
estate  is  to  be  a  safety-deposit  vault.  The  cor- 
rect coat-of-arms  would  be  a  clutching  hand. 
The  man  develops  into  a  tightly  shut  fist.  The 
life  becomes  a  gold-plated  death.  The  yellow 
fever  germ  of  the  bank  vault  is  sadly  infecting 
many  a  noble  life  to-day.  It  is  good  to  have  for 
our  needs,  and  for  the  world's  need,  but  having 


92  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

is  simply  a  pathway  through  to  something  higher. 
It  is  not  the  highest  ambition  of  life. 

A  Higher  Aim. 

Then  there  is  a  standard  above  these,  much 
above;  the  standard  of  doing.  There  is  a  splen- 
did company  of  those  who  beheve  that  to  do 
something  is  the  highest  ambition  possible  to 
man.  These  are  eager  to  do  the  notable  thing. 
They  would  be  spoken  of  as  having  made  a  mark. 
Their  names  become  known  and  are  pronounced 
with  a  touch  of  awe  sometimes.  This  is  a  dis- 
tinct step  up.  It  is  good  to  know  and  to  have ; 
it  is  better  to  do.  Achievement  can  transfigure 
both  knowledge  and  gold  with  rare  beauty.  It 
can  harness  them  for  the  world's  good.  When 
gold  is  at  the  command  of  hands  outreaching  in 
eager  service  it  is  fulfilling  its  highest  mission. 

The  gray  matter  of  the  brain  is  greatest  when 
it  is  tingling  at  the  warm  finger-tips  of  helpful 
service.  The  man  who  knows  a  great  deal  but 
does  not  make  use  of  it  is  like  one  worth  a  million 
dollars — all  in  big  copper  cents ;  it  is  not  avail- 
able for  use  in  that  shape.  The  man  who  is 
busy  getting  money  primarily  for  himseK,  not  for 
use  among  others,  is  like  the  Dead  Sea.  It  lies 
at  the  deepest  depression  of  the  earth's  surface; 
he  lies  at  the  deepest  depression  below  the  sur- 
face of  his  fellows'  needs.  The  man  who  is  bent 
upon  achievement,  the  doing  of  some  notable, 
worthy  thing,  is  aiming  higher  but  not  highest. 

To  do  something  notable  is  not  the    highest 


The  Problem  of  Ambition 


93 


ambition  of  life.  And  yet  more  thoughtfully  be 
it  said  that  service  is  not  the  highest  achievement. 
Wherever  there  is  a  God-touched  life  there  v^ill 
be  service,  warm,  whole-hearted,  untiring  ser- 
vice; yet  it  will  be  the  outflow  of  something 
deeper  in  and  deeper  down  than  itself.  The 
man  who  aims  at  doing  as  the  chief  achievement 
of  his  life,  without  a  deeper  driving-power,  ^^ill 
come  to  the  end  when  things  clear  up,  hungry 
and  tired,  and  both  dissatisfied  and  unsatisfied. 

It  is  good  to  know,  and  to  have.  It  is  better  to 
do ;  to  do  the  thing  best  w^orth  while,  to  do  the 
most  and  the  best ;  yet  the  highest  ambition  is 
not  found  here.  It  is  but  a  roadway  through  to 
somewhere,  else,  a  high  roadway  and  noble,  yet 
only  a  roadway  farther  on  and  higher  up. 

The  Man  Waiting  to  Go  Along. 

It  is  good  to  know ;  it  is  better  to  do ;  it  is  best 
to  he.  To  be  pure  and  strong,  to  be  honest  and 
earnest,  to  be  kindly  and  thoughtful,  and  in  all 
to  be  true,  to  be  manly  and  womanly  and  Christly 
— this  is  the  greatest  ambition  of  life.  It  is  not  in 
knowing  or  having  or  doing,  but  through  knov^dng 
and  having  and  doing  the  best,  it  is  in  being,  in 
what  a  man  is  in  himself.  He  can  do  most  for 
others  who  has  done  most  with  himself.  Mas- 
tery of  circumstances  comes  only  through  mastery 
of  self. 

The  highest  sphere  of  action  is  within.  The 
little  Corsican  Emperor  of  the  French  could  win 
great   \ictories   on  the  battlefield,  but  he  could 


94  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

not  overcome  the  horribly  selfish  ambitions,  hun- 
grily eating  the  heart  out  of  his  human  spirit; 
The  man  of  Tarsus  and  Antioch  had  as  intense 
an  ambition,  as  great  a  grasp,  and  as  strong  a  will, 
but  his  chief  ambition  was  to  be  well-pleasing  to 
his  Master,  his  grasp  was  upon  his  own  nature 
to  bring  it  into  subjection,  and  his  will  drove  him 
over  the  world,  that  all  men  might  know  the  same 
blessed  self-mastery  through  Jesus. 

He  is  aiming  at  Hf  e's  highest  goal  who,  knowing 
the  most  and  best,  and  seeking  to  have  all  he 
needs  and  can  wisely  use,  and  doing  the  best  and 
most,  rests  not  content  in  any  of  these,  but  hun- 
grily pushes  on  towards  purity  of  heart  and  sim- 
plicity of  life.  The  greatest  ambition  is  not 
knowledge  nor  possessions,  nor  notable  achieve- 
ment, but  it  is  in  being  pure,  and  strong,  and 
gentle,  and  warm ;  that  is  to  say,  being  Christly. 

It  makes  the  heart  glow  to  remember  that  this 
highest  achievement  of  life  is  open  to  all.  Only 
the  few,  the  very  few,  become  widely  versed  in 
knowledge,  or  possess  large  means,  or  achieve 
the  notable  things.  The  great  majority  of  us  re- 
main ignorant  and  poor  and  obscure.  But  any 
of  us,  and  every  one  of  us,  may  reach  to  the 
highest  level  in  this  highest  sphere.  The  moun- 
tain white,  the  plantation  black,  the  man  crowded 
in  the  city  slum  or  in  roomier,  pleasanter  quar- 
ters, the  savage  just  emerging  from  his  genera- 
tions of  savagery,  the  cultured  and  university- 
bred,  the  money  rich  and  the  money  poor — all 
may  enter  here,  and  reach  to  the  highest  rung. 


The  Problem  of  Ambition       95 

The  one  most  limited  in  circumstance  may  touch 
the  loftiest  level.  The  one  in  most  favored  con- 
ditions may  go  as  high,  but  can  go  no  higher. 

And  mark  keenly  how  this  affects  all  the  life 
in  these  other  matters.  Where  the  warm,  \dtaliz- 
ing  touch  of  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  upon  the  life 
there  is  an  eager  thirst  for  knowledge.  The  new 
birth  always  includes  a  new  mental  birth  too. 
There  will  be  earnestness  in  the  vocation,  the 
occupation;  a  strong  purpose  to  make  things 
count  for  the  most.  There  will  be  too  an  aggres- 
sive spirit  of  work  and  service,  a  desire  to  achieve 
the  best  possible  within  reach.  But  these  will 
grow  up  out  of  that  first ;  they  will  have  the  sweet 
wholesomeness  of  the  dominant  purpose  of  the 
life.  The  passion  to  be  masterful  in  purity,  in 
gentleness  of  strength,  and  simplicity  of  life, 
with  Jesus  as  both  example  and  inspiration,  will  be 
the  dominant  thing. 

This  is  the  mountain  top.  Here  is  the  pure, 
invigorating  air,  the  far  view  of  great  beauty  and 
inspiration,  the  inward  sense  of  strength  from  the 
climb,  and  rarest  fellowship  with  like  spirits.  A 
man  never  gets  to  the  tip-top,  though.  For  as  the 
top  is  reached  a  new  top  higher  up  comes  into 
view,  and  then  from  that  a  higher  yet.  There  is 
always  the  upward  lift  of  a  higher  level  just 
above. 

But  the  climber  can't  get  very  high  alone.  He 
would  better  not  try.  He  is  apt  to  make  some  bad 
stumbles,  and  lose  the  main  road.  He  does  not 
need  to  go  alone.     There  is  a  Man  waiting  at  the 


96  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

beginning  of  the  path,  with  a  face  that  is  scarred 
but  rarely  beautiful,  and  a  most  winsome  way. 
He  has  been  up  the  road  with  many  others. 
Those  scars  tell  the  story  of  the  road  He  has 
travelled.  We  may  each  go  along  with  Him  as 
our  personal  guide  and  friend  on  the  way.  Let 
us  go. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  SELF- 
MASTERY 


The  Greatest  Battlefield. 

Ditching  Life's  Stream. 

The  Original  Image. 

**  Study  to  Keep  Quiet." 

Living  Musically. 

In  Step  with  God. 

Living  in  the  Essentials. 

The  Foes  of  Self-Mastery. 

Yielding  to  the  Mastery  of  Jesus. 


The    Problem    of  Self- 
Mastery 

The  Greatest  Battlefield 

The  greatest  battlefield  on  which  a  man  ever 
fought  is  within  himself.  The  greatest  victories 
are  there.  Victory  there  is  the  greatest  victory 
possible  in  a  man's  life.  All  the  great  achieve- 
ments of  men  outside  of  themselves  are  less  than 
the  achievement  of  getting  mastery  of  themselves. 
Victory  here  means  victory  elsewhere. 

All  other  problems  of  the  personal  sort  are  in- 
cluded in  this.  Their  solution  is  included  in  its 
solution.  There  must  be  practical  understand- 
ing about  sin,  and  real  power  over  it,  before  there 
can  be  self-mastery.  For  it  was  sin  that  first 
stole  self-mastery  away.  Selfishness  must  be 
seen  and  gripped  in  its  subtle  as  well  as  its  coarse 
forms,  before  the  sweets  of  the  finest  self-mastery 
can  be  tasted.  Doubt  must  be  mastered,  at  least 
far  enough  to  give  a  steady  footing  and  steady 
going,  if  the  fragrance  of  self-mastery  is  to  fill  the 
life.  Only  he  who  sees  clearly  the  highest  am- 
bition of  life,  and  holds  everything  else  strictly 
under,  can  climb  the  heights  here. 

A  man's  foes  are  those  of  his  own  household,  the 
99 


I  oo  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

household  of  his  own  person  and  his  own  life. 
Victory  here  brings  the  strength  that  wins  on 
every  other  field.  And  victory  on  any  other  field, 
or  every  other,  is  robbed  of  its  sweets,  if  a  man 
is  whipped  on  this  field  of  his  own  personality. 

The  man  who  can  rule  wisely  and  masterfully 
within  his  own  spirit  is  greater  than  he  who  rules 
a  state  or  a  nation  or  a  great  corporation.  It  is 
true  there  must  be  some  mastery  of  self  before 
there  can  be  mastery  of  others,  but  then  we  are 
not  talking  about  partial  mastery,  except  as  it  is 
a  stepping-stone  up  to  the  highest. 

The  greatest  mastery  is  self-mastery.  The 
greatest  man  is  he  who  has  become  master  of 
himself,  not  in  the  limited  sense  of  some  who  do 
notable  things  on  other  fields,  but  in  the  finest, 
fullest  sense.  This  is  the  most  fascinating  of  all 
problems.  It  is  a  continuous  problem,  ever 
yielding  to  solution,  yet  never  fully  solved.  For 
every  high  level  reached  shows  a  higher  beyond, 
so  great  is  the  possibility  lying  within  one's  self. 

Man  was  made  like  God  and  to  have  dominion 
over  all  the  lower  creation.  That  is  the  Bible 
way  of  saying  that  he  was  to  be  master  of  his  own 
self,  and  through  that  self-mastery  to  be  master 
of  all  creation.  The  man  eager  to  reach  the 
highest  mastery  will  study  God,  for  here  is  the 
original  plan  for  himself.  He  will  keep  in  close 
contact  with  the  Original.  The  closer  that  touch 
the  nearer  does  he  come  to  his  own  true  self. 


The  Problem  of  Self- Mastery    loi 


Ditching  Lifers  Stream. 

Self-mastery  requires  a  full  knowledge  of  one's 
self,  or  at  least  a  steadily  growing  knowledge. 
It  means  a  reverential  regard  for  the  marvellous 
functions  and  powers  that  he  finds  within  himself. 
Control  requires  knowledge,  as  well  as  more  than 
knowledge.  Increasing  knowledge  leads  the  way 
to  increasing  mastery,  and  should  lead  to  greater 
reverence. 

The  man  who  reverences  his  wonderful  powers 
is  held  off  just  that  far  from  sin.  The  man  who 
sins  despises  himself.  Sin  is  never  reverential. 
It  is  always  profane.  Self-mastery  is  always  rev- 
erential, towards  God  most  and  first,  then  tow- 
ards the  man  himself  made  in  the  image  of  God, 
and  then  towards  all  other  men  in  that  same 
image,  and  towards  all  of  God's  creation.  The 
man  who  sins  is  blurring  and  blotting  out  the  fine 
image  of  God  imprinted  on  himself.  Knowl- 
edge of  one's  self,  and  reverence  for  one's  self, 
are  open  doors,  one  after  the  other,  into  purity 
and  maturity  and  control. 

We  have  talked  together  a  bit  about  the  ideal 
man  in  the  talk  on  ambition.  And  one  should 
keep  that  ideal  clearly  in  mind.  There  are  three 
spheres  within  one's  self,  the  body,  the  mind,  and 
the  spirit.  Self-mastery  means  fullest  culture 
and  control  of  all  three  of  these.  Spirit  culture 
is  the  rarest  to  be  found  of  any  of  the  three.  But 
a  full,  rounded  culture  of  all  three,  each  in  itself, 
and  each  in  due  relation  to  the  others,  is  rarer  still. 


102  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

But  there  is  yet  more  to  be  said  here.  A  man 
has  three  relationships,  inward  to  himself,  up- 
ward to  God,  outward  to  his  neighbor.  The 
relationship  to  God  holds  the  key  to  the  other 
two.  There  is  ever  the  tendency  to  push  some 
one  of  these  at  the  expense  of  the  others.  How 
sin  has  unsteadied  our  nerves,  and  given  a  twist 
to  our  eyes!  To  keep  true  and  steady  the  upper 
relation  means  to  keep  the  others  true  too.  The 
nearer  to  God  a  man  gets  the  nearer  does  he  come 
to  his  own  true  possible  self.  And  the  nearer  to 
God  the  closer  to  one's  fellows  always;  and  not 
only  the  closer,  but  the  purer  and  stronger  and 
fairer  that  neighborly  contact  will  be. 

Self-mastery  means  holding  true  to  one's  re- 
lationships, upward,  inward,  outward.  There 
are  men  who  are  regarded  as  masterful  men  who 
yet  ignore  their  relationship  to  God.  They  are 
masterful.  They  reveal  rare  power.  Yet  it  is 
one-sided.  Another  side,  the  upper,  is  untouched, 
ignored;  and  the  one-sided  mastery  itself  is  in- 
complete because  it  can  become  full  only  through 
what  comes  in  from  above.  The  stream  of  life 
flows  down  from  above,  it  flows  in  and  through, 
and  then  flows  out  to  others.  Any  other  running 
of  the  stream  by  ditches  or  dams  is  changing 
nature's  order,  and  spoils  the  life.  It  will  either 
stagnate  and  grow  green  sUme  on  its  surface,  or 
else  it  will  run  low  and  run  out. 


The  Problem  of  Self  Mastery    103 

The  Original  Image. 

Self-mastery  means  holding  one's  self  and  one's 
powers  steady  to  their  true  use;  not  lack  of  use, 
deficiency;  nor  over-use,  prodigality;  nor  misuse, 
the  inappropriate,  the  improper;  nor  abuse,  the 
injurious;  but  nature's  true, full  use.  It  does  not 
mean  repression  but  control,  full  expression 
through  control.  It  recognizes  that  what  is  not 
controlled  goes  to  extremes;  weak,  bad,  wrong 
extremes. 

Nowhere  is  the  hurt  of  sin  seen  more  than  in 
the  unsteady,  uneven  swing  of  the  pendulum  of 
life.  Sin  is  a  sort  of  magnet  puUing  it  unduly 
over  to  one-  side  and  holding  it  there,  or  giAdng 
it  a  wobbling  movement.  Mastery  is  holding 
things  steady  to  their  true  use.  One  needs  to 
know  what  their  true  use  is,  and  then  to  have  the 
strength  of  purpose,  and  the  greater  strength  of 
discipUne — tested  purpose — and  then  something 
more,  to  hold  him  steady  to  the  high  aim. 

Mastery  of  self  through  mastery  by  God,  and 
in  order  to  be  of  service  to  one's  fellows,  is  the 
ideal  one  should  steadily  strive  for.  A  man 
should  not  be  afraid  of  that  fine  word  ideal.  It 
is  held  up  to  ridicule  quite  a  bit.  It  is  sometimes 
used  for  something  impractical,  up  in  the  clouds, 
quite  out  of  reach.  It  should  rather  be  used  for 
that  towards  which  a  man  aims.  The  ideal  is  the 
perfect  natural  standard  towards  which  one  should 
be  ever  reaching  and  stretching  up.  Jesus  said, 
*'Be  ye  perfect,  even  as  your  Father  in  heaven  is 


1 04  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

perfect."  He  wouldn't  have  told  us  to  do  it,  if 
it  couldn't  be,  done.  There  is  not  only  an  ideal, 
*'be  ye  perfect,"  but  the  highest  possible  ideal, 
''as  your  Father  is  perfect." 

It  is  a  peculiar  quality  of  the  true  ideal  that  it 
is  never  reached ;  for  when  reached  it  grows  un- 
der the  reaching  touch  into  something  finer  and 
higher  and  yet  more  attractive.  True  ideals  are 
wonderfully  stimulating.  They  grow  as  they  are 
touched.  And  while  there  is  a  sense  of  gladness 
and  content  in  the  touch,  that  very  touch  itself 
gives  a  yearning  for  a  higher  yet,  and  a  new  am- 
bitious reaching  on  and  up. 

The  closer  a  man  sticks  to  the  Original  the 
nearer  will  he  come  to  self-mastery.  The  origi- 
nal of  man  is  God.  To  know  God  is  to  come 
to  know  our  possible  selves — the  men  we  should 
be,  and  the  men  we  will  be.  God  is  all  the  time 
revealing  Himself  to  us  in  nature,  in  the  won- 
drous Bible,  in  our  own  inner  spirits.  We  should 
be  eager  to  know  Him,  for  so  we  come  to  know 
ourselves.  And  if  we  will  know  Him  in  the  deeper 
sense  of  friendship's  intimacy  we  shall  come  to 
be  like  Him  again.  That  is  self-mastery.  Our 
greatest  Teacher  said :  ''This  is  life  eternal,  that 
they  should  know  thee  the  only  true  God,  and  Him 
whom  thou  didst  send,  Jesus  Christ." 

''Study  to  Keep  Quiet:' 

There  are  four  great  traits  of  God  to  be  seen  in 
nature,  in  His  Word,  and  in  His  speaking  within 
one's  inner  spirit. 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery     105 

God  is  quiet.  The  earth  has  grown  noisy. 
Nature  is  still.  There  are  storm  noises  and  earth- 
quakes, but  these  result  from  disturbances  above 
and  below.  Both  the  disturbances  and  the  noises 
are  abnormal,  not  true  to  nature.  Man  has  be- 
come noisy.  God  is  quiet.  Noise  reveals  weak- 
ness ;  something  is  out  of  gear  or  tune.  Sound  is 
rhythm.  Noise  is  discord;  it  is  a  result  of  fric- 
tion always,  a  jarring  of  two  or  more  forces.  The 
members  of  the  orchestra  are  not  controlled  by 
the  leader's  eye;  they  are  free-lancing.  Strength 
is  still.  It  may  give  a  sound,  but  it  is  always  a 
sound  of  stillness.  It  is  rhythmic,  harmonious, 
musical. 

God  is  quiet.  He  is  revealing  Himself,  all  the 
time,  up  to  the  highest  possible  limit,  to  His 
much-loved  race  of  men.  But  He  can  come  in 
only  through  an  opened  door.  He  can  reveal 
Himself  only  to  the  man  who  opens  his  door. 
Sympathy  with  God,  oneness  of  spirit  with  Him, 
is  the  key.  A  spirit  of  quiet  stillness  opens  the 
life  to  this  marvellous,  quiet  God.  We  can  all 
recall  how,  in  moments  of  quietness,  God  has 
spoken  into  the  inner  ear,  and  we  have  long  re- 
membered what  He  said.  We  can  remember, 
too,  how  at  such  times  His  speaking  has  deep- 
ened the  quiet  in  our  souls.  God  w^ould  woo  us 
into  that  quietness  of  spirit  akin  to  his  own,  that 
we  may  be  living  again  in  our  native  atmosphere — 
His  presence. 

To  a  man  absorbed  in  Christian  activity,  rush- 
ing, pushing,  with  nerves  on  tension  and  blood 


1 06  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

boiling,  who  wearily  turned  to  God  in  prayer, 
there  came  one  day  into  the  inner  ear,  as  he  was  on 
bent  knees,  a  Voice  speaking  with  great  softness 
and  equally  great  clearness,  ^^  Study  to  he  quietJ'^ 
It  brought  a  great  hush  into  his  'spirit;  in  the 
following  days  it  became  a  veritable  sheet-anchor, 
holding  the  bark  steady  in  many  a  storm.  Its 
variations  were  brooded  over  that  new  life  might 
come  out  of  its  inner  'depths;  "study  to  keep 
quiet";  "be  ambitious  to  be  unambitious,"  in 
the  world's  abused  meaning  of  that  word  ambi- 
tious. 

Many  personal,  practical  applications,  quietly, 
gradually  worked  themselves  out  of  it  into  the 
fibre  of  habit.  Keep  the  body  quiet,  the  voice 
quiet,  the  eyes  quiet,  the  thoughts,  the  imagina- 
tion, the  emotions  quiet.  Put  on  nature's  pneu- 
matic tires  and  rubber  heels.  "But,"  you  say, 
"how  self-conscious  that  must  make  one!"  No, 
not  if  you  do  it  quietly,  naturally.  Quiet  does 
not  mean  repression.  It  means  the  natural  ex- 
pression of  mastery,  neither  overdone  nor  under- 
done. Mastery  is  holding  true  to  nature.  Mas- 
tery means  quietness,  the  quietness  of  rhythm,  of 
the  sun's  swing,  of  the  dew's  fall,  of  God's  action 
in  all  nature,  of  the  truly  masterful  man's  natural 
life. 

As  the  days  went  their  rounds,  there  came  troop- 
ing to  the  support  of  this  message,  one  by  one,  a 
group  of  quiet  verses.  From  out  the  midst  of 
that  stormy  Forty-sixth  Psalm  came  the  quiet, 
commanding  note,  "Be  still  and  know  that  I  am 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  107 

God,"^  with  its  alternate  reading,  ''Let  go  and 
know  that  I  am  God."  Let  go  your  will  and  plans 
and  you  will  find  Somebody's  else  will  and  plans 
for  you.  Let  go  of  yourself,  and  you  will  be- 
come conscious  of  Him.  Be  still,  be  stilly  and 
you  will  find  God,  and  in  finding  Him  be  finding 
your  own  true  self,  for  in  His  image  were  we 
made.  But  what  a  lot  of  persistent  practising 
that  "be  still"  does  take! 

Into  the  hearts  of  many  thousands  have  been 
sung,  in  classical  music,  those  words  of  David's, 
"Rest  in  the  Lord,  and  wait  patiently  for  Him.'"* 
The  margin  of  the  Revision  gives  fine  coloring, 
"Be  still  before  the  Lord."  But  the  beauty,  as 
well  as  the  deep,  simple  philosophy,  or,  rather, 
the  beauty  because  of  the  philosophy,  comes  out 
best  in  Luther's  translation,  "Be  silent  to  God, 
and  let  Him  mould  thee."  The  wondrous  power 
of  silence  when  it  is  in  God's  presence,  and  tow- 
ards Him! 

The  One  hundred  and  seventh  Psalm,^  which 
the  Hebrews  sang  responsively  in  their  temple 
service,  pictures  \ividly  such  a  storm  at  sea  as 
many  a  man  has  known  upon  the  sea  of  his  life, 
or  the  inner  sea  of  his  heart.  But  the  great 
change  comes  when  the  oft-repeated  "they"  is 
changed  to  "He" — "He  maketh  the  storm  a 
calm,  so  that  the  waves  thereof  are  still."  His 
hands  sweep  the  human  keyboard  and  discord 
gives  way  to  sweet  music.  And  what  a  wealth 
of  human  experience  is  in  the  next  line,  "Then 

*Psalm  46:10.        2psaijn  37:7.        ^Psalm  107:26-32. 


io8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

are  they  glad  because  they  be  quiet."  The  re- 
turn to  quiet  is  a  return  to  natural  life,  as  planned 
by  the  Giver  of  life. 

This  vein  of  gold  comes  again  to  the  sur- 
face in  the  Gospels.  Matthew's  kingly  narrative 
gives  the  imperial  touch  to  the  same  storm  scene 
on  Galilee's  blue  waters:  "He  rebuked  the  vdnds 
and  the  sea,  and  there  was  a  great  calm."  ^  *' Re- 
buked!" Something  was  wrong;  somebody 
misbehaving;  they  were  raising  a  storm.  The 
Master  appears  with  His  rebuke.  He  was  recog- 
nized. There  was  a  great  calm.  If  He  were 
ever  recognized  and  honored  there  would  always 
be  a  great  calm.  And  there  can  be  mastery  only 
when  there  is  calm,  nature's  true  condition.  A 
change  of  figure  couples  with  that  this,  also  from 
Matthew:  "And  He  touched  her  hand  and  the 
fever  left  her,  and  she  arose  and  ministered  to 
them."^  The  riot  of  fever  in  the  blood,  angry 
faces,  green  eyes,  hooked  fingers !  His  touch — 
the  fever  goes,  the  storm  is  stilled,  a  great  calm, 
then  service.     Only  calm  hands  can  serve  truly. 

The  Old  Testament  brings  up  a  familiar  line 
that  has  strengthened  many  a  life  in  stress: 
"In  quietness  and  in  confidence  shall  be  your 
strength."^  Confidence  is  quiet.  Fear  is  al- 
ways flurried.  Strength  is  stored  away  in  quiet- 
ness. Out  of  the  quiet  comes  new  strength. 
That  exquisite,  simple.  Oriental  love  story,  Ruth, 
has  in  it  a  bit  that  contains  meaning  for  one's 
heart  apart  from  its  original  significance:   "Sit 

*  Matthew  8:23-27.      ^j^^tthew  8:15.      ^jgaiah  30: 15. 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  109 

still,  my  daughter,  until  thou  know  how  the 
matter  will  fall;  for  the  man  will  not  rest  until 
he  have  finished  the  thing  this  day."'  We  who 
have  Paul's  prison  psalm ^  find  in  its  confident 
assertion — ''He  who  began  a  good  work  will 
perfect  it  until  the  day  of  Jesus  Christ" — good 
reason  for  spelling  Ruth's  "man"  with  a  capital 
M  in  our  personal  thinking  of  it,  and  finding 
in  that  sweet  story  fresh  stimulus  to  sitting  still. 

God  revealed  Himself  to  Elijah  one  morning 
early  in  "a  sound  of  gentle  stillness."^  The 
shepherd  singer  says,  "He  leadeth  me  beside 
the  waters  of  quietness."*  Job's  true  comforter 
reminds  that  much  troubled  man,  "When  He 
giveth  quietness,  who  then  can  condemn?"* 
Solomon's 'God-given  wisdom  has  this:  "A  tran- 
quil heart  is  the  life  of  the  flesh.""  Fitting  the 
Ninety-first  Psalm  into  its  likely  historical  setting 
of  the  thirty-third  chapter  of  Exodus  suggests 
this  free  translation  of  its  first  verse:  "He  that 
goeth  aside  to  sit  still  in  the  secret  place  with  the 
Most  High  shall  find  Him  coming  over  so  close 
that  he  shall  be  lodging  under  the  shadow  of  the 
Almighty  One."^  These  are  some  of  the  quiet 
verses  that  grew  up  around  that  first  one.  And 
there  are  more.  They  should  be  looked  up 
slowly,  and  breathed  in  deeply. 

These  statements  reveal  God.  They  reveal 
the  true  spirit  in  men  who  had  found  God,  and 

^Ruth  3:18.  ^Philippians  i:6.  *I.  Kings  19:12  margin. 
^ Psalm  23:2.  ^  Job  34:29.  ^Proverbs  14:30  (American 
Revision).     "'Psalm  91:1,  with  Exodus  33:7-11. 


no  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

were  living  in  Him.  They  reveal  the  true  spir- 
it of  man.  Quietness  is  the  native  air  of  man. 
All  his  powers  work  best  when  they  work  in  an 
atmosphere  of  quiet.  He  can  do  better  work; 
he  can  do  more;  he  can  do  it  more  easily,  for  he 
is  moving  in  his  native  element. 

Quietness  is  a  characteristic  of  self-mastery, 
as  well  as  an  essential  to  it.  But  quietness  does 
not  mean  sleepiness,  stupidness.  It  does  not 
mean  the  inactivity  of  laziness.  It  means  keen 
alertness  to  all  that  is  passing,  full  readiness  to 
respond,  with  the  steam  up,  and  the  hand  on  the 
throttle  while  all  is  still  and  under  control. 

Living  Musically. 


A  second  great  trait  of  God  is  rhythm.  Every- 
thing He  does  is  done  with  the  sweet  beat  and 
swing  of  harmony.  The  word  we  commonly  use 
for  this  is  method,  or  system.  The  finer  word  is 
rhythm ;  that  brings  out  the  ease  and  music  of  it. 

Nature  is  rhythmical.  There's  a  fine  swing 
to  it.  Rhythm  is  music.  Life  is  musical, 
though  many  fail  to  see  the  leader's  stick,  and 
don't  catch  the  pitch  nor  keep  time,  and  so  flat 
badly  and  drag,  and  lose  the  uplift  of  it  all.  All 
growth  in  life  is  by  the  musical  pendulum-swing 
back  and  on,  with  the  clock  hands  steadily  tell- 
ing out  the  onward  movement. 

The  waters  of  the  sea  ever  flow  back  and  on 
from  ebb  tide  toward  flood.  The  moon  rises 
and  goes  down  to  rise  a  bit  higher  each  night,  in 
a  larger  circle,  until  the  full  is  reached,  and  disa- 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery    1 1 1 

appears  by  the  same  gradual  rhythmic  swing. 
So  we  get  a  measure  of  time,  a  moon-th  or  month. 
The  sun  rises  and  falls  through  the  same  sort  of 
rhythm,  with  its  own  variations,  and  a  larger 
swing,  from  lowest  point  to  highest  and  back  to 
lowest,  making  the  longer  measure  of  our  time. 
The  seasons  go  from  the  ebb  of  dead  winter  to 
new  spring  hfe,  then  full  flood  of  summer  Hfe, 
then  autumn's  decHne,  and  dead  winter,  when 
for  a  while  nature  is  at  rest  gathering  vitahty. 
The  day  rises  gradually  from  modest  dawn  to 
full  noon,  and  so  back  to  its  sleep  at  night. 

The  musical  rhythmic  beat  is  in  all  nature 
and  in  all  life.  Were  our  ears  less  dulled,  and 
less  absorbed  in  a  different  sort  of  thing,  we 
could  evep  hear  the  music  of  God  in  nature. 
Through  the  music  of  nature  as  well  as  its  great 
beauty  He  speaks  to  us  and  reveals  Himself. 
God  is  musical.  Man's  love  of  music,  so  uni- 
versal, is  evidence  of  the  self-mastery  to  which 
he  was  born.  You  can't  force  music.  It  must 
go  in  its  own  time,  or  it  isn't  music.  We  work 
best  when  we  work  musically,  with  a  fine  beat 
and  swing  to  all  our  movements;  not  only  best, 
but  do  most,  and  do  it  most  easily. 

Soldiers  on  march  cover  a  greater  distance, 
with  less  tire,  when  the  band  is  playing.  Young 
people  in  the  gymnasium  get  more  enjoyment 
and  more  good  out  of  the  exercise  when  it  is  done 
to  the  sound  of  the  piano.  So  wdth  the  little 
ones  in  the  kindergarten.  Tired-out  men  are 
rested  by  music.     The  world  and  the  Church  come 


112  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

together  here;  music  is  the  common  element  in 
the  theatre  and  the  church  service.  Men  love 
music.  It  is  a  bit  of  the  original  image  of  God 
in  us.  Men  noted  for  great  achievement  are,  in 
varying  degree,  always  men  of  method,  of  rhythm, 
of  swing  in  the  thing  they  do  best.  Self-mastery 
means  rhythm.  It  requires  deep  peace  as  its 
basis;  that  is,  absence  of  discord,  and  of  the  jar- 
ring note.  As  one  comes  back  into  full  sweet 
chord  with  God  there  comes  the  sweet  peace,  and 
then  the  full  swing  of  nature's  rhythm,  and  so 
the  heritage  of  self-mastery. 

In  Step  with  God. 

And  God  is  unhurried;  though  our  word  for 
it  is ''  slow."  We  say  slow  because  the  fever  of  sin 
is  in  our  blood,  and  sends  us  down  the  road  on  a 
rush.  All  Hfe  is  fevered.  The  heart  beats  faster 
than  normal;  the  temperature  is  too  high;  the 
eyes  have  an  unnatural  brightness;  the  nerves 
are  strung  up  dangerously  near  to  a  break.  And 
all  the  time  breaks  are  happening.  But  the  fever 
seems  to  intensify. 

Man  calls  nature  slow.  The  growth  of  the 
trees,  the  passing  of  the  year  through  its  seasons — 
we  call  these  things  slow.  But  nature  reveals 
God.  It  tells  both  of  Himself,  and  of  His  method 
of  work.  Nature  seems  slow  because  of  this 
riot  of  fever  in  our  blood.  Nature  is  normal; 
the  other  is  abnormal,  not  true  to  nature. 

I  suppose  the  insects  at  our  feet,  if  they  could 
think,  would  probably  think  our  movements  very 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery     1 1  3 

slow.  How  long  it  must  seem  that  a  man's  foot 
stays  on  the  ground  when  he  is  walking,  even 
walking  fast.  The  ant  down  there  can  scurry 
along  several  times  its  own  length  while  that  foot 
remains  unmoved.  But  the  length  of  the  foot's 
stay  on  one  spot  tells  of  the  size  of  the  body  it  is 
holding  up  and  swinging  forward. 

God's  movements  seem  so  slow  to  us.  His 
march  through  history,  the  coming  of  justice  to 
the  weak  and  oppressed,  the  shining  of  light  in 
the  dark  places — all  this  has  so  often  been  called 
slow.  God  is  so  big,  so  great.  He  is  moving 
steadily  on.  The  apparent  slowness  only  spells 
out  the  greatness  of  His  size  and  of  His  plans. 
It  takes  time  to  swing  great  things  forward. 
Time  is  but  a  hyphen  between  two  eternities. 
God  lives  and  moves  in  eternity.  He  breathes 
in  the  atmosphere  of  greatness. 

We  are  too  apt  to  play  the  part  of  the  ants 
scurrying  hastily,  hurriedly,  breathlessly  along, 
and  when  we  do  look  up,  if  we  do,  think  how 
slow  that  One  up  there  does  seem.  But  in  this 
we  are  not  true  to  our  real  selves.  We  are  like 
God.  We  belong  to  eternity  more  than  to  time. 
It  is  this  fever  that's  bothering  us.  Man  needs 
the  soothing,  controlling  touch  of  God  ever  upon 
his  life  if  the  fever  is  to  go,  and  never  to  return. 

God  is  unhurried.  He  is  keenly  watching; 
never  indifferent.  He  is  accurate;  never  missing 
the  mark  of  His  purpose.  He  is  prompt;  never 
ahead  of  time,  and  never  late.  Man  was  made 
in  the  image  of  God.  As  he  turns  his  face  full 
8 


114  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

up  to  God,  and  breathes  in  slowly  and  fully  his 
native  air  again,  he  will  rise  again  into  the  fine 
self-mastery  promised  for  him. 

But  unhurried  does  not  mean  slow,  nor  in- 
different, nor  sleepy.  It  means  the  measured, 
onward  movement  of  a  great  spirit  with  a  great 
purpose  and  limitless  power  behind. 

The  other  word  for  unhurriedness  is  patience. 
Nothing  reveals  strength  more  than  patience, 
the  power  to  hold  still  while  waiting.  Nothing 
disturbs  much  fine  planning  of  good  people  more 
than  the  lack  of  patience.  We  are  all  children 
in  our  impatience.  Patience  is  the  most  God- 
like quality  that  man  can  have.  It  has  keen 
eyes,  and  quick  ears,  and  a  warm  heart ;  it  means 
seeing  keenly,  and  feeling  deeply  and  acutely, 
yet  holding  still  until  the  fulness  of  time  has  come 
for  action. 

Self-mastery  is  keeping  step  with  God.  Not 
running  ahead  of  Him,  nor  lagging  behind  Him, 
but  going  at  His  pace.  We  miss  much  of  what 
He  is  saying  to  us  because  we  don't  keep  His  pace, 
and  stay  alongside.  We  lose  the  immense  uplift 
of  seeing  His  great  plans  and  far-reaching  move- 
ments in  our  feverish  haste  to  do  things  for  Him. 
Self-mastery  means  keeping  His  pace.  It  is  un- 
hurried. 

Living  in  the  Essentials, 

There  is  always  a  simplicity  about  God  and  His 
movements.  His  glory  is  overwhelming  to  hu- 
man eyes  and  senses.     The  chosen  leaders  of  the 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  115 

new  Hebrew  nation  could  not  bear  the  awful 
glory  of  His  presence.  Yet  this  but  tells  of  the 
contrast  between  His  glory  and  purity,  and  sin- 
ful man.  "Clouds  and  darkness  are  round 
about  Him."  Yet  this  reveals  the  tenderness 
that  protects  our  weak  eyes  from  the  dazzling 
sight  of  His  presence. 

When  He  speaks  in  creation  it  is  in  simplest 
language.  He  walks  in  Eden  in  closest  intimacy 
of  fellowship  with  man  with  a  simpHcity  very 
winsome.  jThe  revelation  of  Himself  there  suggests 
the  simplicity  of  greatness.  Greatness  is  simple. 
And  man  is  very  great  for  he  is  in  the  image  of 
of  God.  As  he  allows  the  image  to  be  repro- 
duced in  him^  he  increases  in  his  simplicity.  The 
spirit  of  self-mastery  is  always  simple. 

Sin  tangles  things  up.  It  makes  life  complex 
in  a  confused  way.  It  blurs  and  dulls  our  un- 
derstanding, and  weakens  our  grasp,  and  so 
things  that  are  great  but  really  simple  seem  con- 
fused to  us.  We  get  confused  and  tangled  up. 
True  life  is  simple.  That  word  has  been  having 
new  currency  of  late,  and  has  been  misunderstood 
some.  It  does  not  mean  crude,  nor  immature, 
nor  lacking  in  culture  as  some  have  thoughtlessly 
seemed  to  think.  It  means  clear  understanding 
of  essentials  and  direct  action.  It  sifts  through 
the  mix-up  of  our  common  life,  and  seizes  upon 
the  things  that  are  essential,  and  grasps  thcni 
firmly,  and  is  controlled  accordingly. 

A  huge  piece  of  machinery  seems  very  in- 
tricate and  complex  to  one  not  experienced  in 


1 1 6  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

its  make-up  and  workings.  But  to  the  engineer 
its  law  of  action  is  simple.  A  sense  of  dread 
sometimes  fills  the  mind  at  the  sight  of  giant 
wheels  and  beams  in  motion;  a  dread  of  the 
immense  power,  and  of  what  might  happen. 
But  while  conscious  of  the  enormous  power  there, 
the  engineer  moves  calmly  in  and  out  with  his 
oil  can,  and  touches  the  central  wheels  quietly. 
It  is  all  simple  to  him,  for  he  understands. 

Being  with  God  gives  one  understanding.  It 
clears  his  eyes.  He  comes  more  and  more  to  see 
things  through  God's  eyes.  So  he  comes  into 
the  simplicity  of  God,  and  of  the  self -poise  and 
self-mastery  that  are  his  birthright.  He  becomes 
simple  in  thinking  of  himself.  While  recognizing 
and  reverencing  the  great  powers  within  himself, 
he  knows  that  these  are  a  gijt  to  him.  He  has 
nothing  that  he  hasn't  received  from  Another. 
And  these  powers  and  talents  can  come  to  their 
full  growth  only  under  the  constant  influence  and 
presence  of  their  Giver. 

Man  needs  an  atmosphere  if  he  is  to  reveal  his 
greatness.  The  tree  must  have  its  atmosphere 
of  sunlight  and  air  and  water  and  food,  else  it 
cannot  live.  God  is  the  atmosphere  of  man. 
Only  in  the  presence  of  God,  in  closest  intimacy 
with  Him,  under  the  warm  touch  of  His  breath, 
does  he  come  into  his  growth.  And  getting  clear 
in  his  relation  to  God  simplifies  a  man's  contact 
with  his  fellows,  and  simplifies  all  of  his  think- 
ing of  hfe.  Simplicity  is  seeing  clearly  what  is 
essential  and  what  is  detail — non-essential,  and 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  1 1 7 

being  controlled  accordingly.  So  man  rises  up 
into  the  full  mastery  of  himself  through  his  utter 
dependence  upon  God. 

But  simple  does  not  mean  crude  nor  rude,  not 
immature  nor  lacking  in  culture.  It  means 
being  controlled  by  the  essentials,  which  them- 
selves are  always  few  and  simple. 

Here  are  found  great  traits  of  self-mastery.  It 
is  quiet,  and  rhythmic;  it  is  unhurried,  and 
simple. 

The  Foes  of  Self-Mastery. 

There  are  four  tempting  demons  of  very  subtle 
spirit  constantly  besieging  the  path  of  self-mas- 
tery. The}^  are  apt  to  come  by  turns,  not  all 
at  once.  They  make  a  sort  of  relay  race  of  it; 
as  quickly  as  one  seems  held  in  check  or  winded, 
another  takes  its  place,  and  the  new  arrival  is 
usually  the  opposite  of  the  last  one.  Yet  oft- 
times  they  come  in  a  bunch,  all  together,  with  a 
rush.  These  four  enemies  are  lack  of  use, 
deficiency;  over-use,  prodigality;  misuse,  the 
inappropriate,  the  improper;  and  abuse,  the 
injurious. 

The  man  who  catches  fire  with  a  noble  purpose 
is  apt  to  be  attacked  by  the  temptation  to  over- 
use his  powers.  He  feels  the  strong  tide  of  the 
needs  and  of  the  possibihties  of  life.  Life  becomes 
to  him  an  emergency,  mth  himself  as  the  chief 
factor  in  meeting  it.  He  seems  to  be  occup)ing 
the  central  position ;  so  much  depends  upon  him. 
His  view  of  the  need  or  possibility  becomes  too 


1 1 8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

intense.  It  shuts  out  the  broader  view  of  a  plan, 
the  great  wise  plan  of  a  master  Planner  in  which 
he  is  simply  a  part ;  an  important  part  it  may  be, 
yet  but  a  part;  the  responsibility  for  the  whole 
is  upon  broader  shoulders.  This  temptation 
comes  very  strongly,  with  the  rush  of  a  storm 
down  the  valley;  many  a  man  is  swept  off  his 
feet  by  it. 

The  result  is  bad.  Through  over-use  the  man 
loses  the  chief  thing  with  which  to  work  and  fight 
— his  mastery  of  himself;  the  working,  fighting 
power.  The  cause  he  would  carry  through  is 
helped  much,  and  may  be  hindered  more,  be- 
cause he  does  not  bring  to  its  aid  the  best  weapon 
he  can  use — self-mastery.  If  a  man  in  his  weak- 
ness persist  here  the  over-use  is  apt  to  lead  to  both 
misuse  and  abuse.  His  bodily  strength  fails; 
through  that  the  judgment  is  impaired ;  the  vision 
blurs;  the  will  grows  unsteady,  either  weak  or 
stubborn;  and  serious  mistakes  are  made.  Tired- 
out  nerves  lose  the  sense  of  proportion.  Details 
look  big  and  awesome.  One's  strength  and  gifts 
are  used  as  they  were  not  meant  to  be. 

And  some  catch  fire  from  below,  with  the 
ignoble  flames  that  belong  lower  down  than  the 
human  level.  They  are  caught  by  the  fires  of 
self-seeking.  Self  becomes  and  remains  the  hori- 
zon of  the  life.  They  have  no  eyes  to  see  over 
the  boundary  lines  of  their  own  needs  and  lives. 
All  the  tides  of  life  washing  up  and  out  are  reck- 
oned only  as  incoming  tides  beating  ever  on 
the  shores  of   self.     The  self -fires  send  out  some 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  119 

brilliant  sparks  and  flashes,  and  warm  some  needy 
folks  by  their  glow.  But  this  is  incidental;  they 
are  kindled  and  fed  by  th.e  man  primarily  for 
himself.  There  is  no  sacrifice  involved  in  the 
heat  given  out.  It  costs  nothing.  On  the  con- 
trary, it  only  feeds  the  flames  of  self-praise.  Mis- 
use saps  a  life  of  the  sweets  of  self-mastery. 

And  some  are  kindled  with  the  fiercely  burning 
fires  of  low  passion  that  burn  out  hot  and  quick. 
Or,  the  highly  colored  flames  of  pleasure  get 
control.  The  masterful  man  is  controlled  in 
everything  by  a  high,  strong  purpose,  never  by 
pleasure.  Pleasure  comes,  and  is  all  the  keener, 
and  leaves  no  dregs,  because  not  sought.  True 
pleasure  is  the  sweet  fragrance  of  life  brought 
out  under  the  pressure  of  a  strong  purpose.  It 
should  never  be  an  end  in  itself.  It  comes  as  a 
restful  cushion  to  a  man  absorbed  in  his  purpose. 

Sometimes  there  is  a  smouldering  or  waiting 
of  the  soul-fires.  The  fire  is  there  but  has  not 
yet  broken  out  into  flames.  Then  some  event, 
simple  in  itself  or  perhaps  great,  is  the  whiff  of 
fresh  oxygen  that  brings  the  burst  of  flame.  So 
it  seems  to  have  been  with  Jesus.  With  all  rever- 
ence be  it  said  that  He  seems  to  have  first  caught 
fire,  as  a  boy,  in  Jerusalem.  That  visit  to  the 
holy  city  and  temple  was  the  match  that  ignited 
all  the  wondrous  nature  vrithin. 

The  man  who  catches  fire  sometimes  lets  that 
fire  die  down,  and  sometimes  die  out.  That  is 
always  a  tragedy.  The  man  has  had  his  vision. 
He  has  felt  the  upper  pull  upon  his  powers  and 


1 20  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

responded  to  it,  and  then  has  yielded  to  the  suc- 
tion of  lower  things.  The  lapping  waves  of 
selfishness  have  been  allowed  to  creep  in  and 
put  the  fire  out.  This  is  one  of  the  sad  and  fre- 
quent tragedies  of  human  life. 

But  some  people  never  catch  fire  at  all.  They 
never  wake  up.  Their  powers  lie  sluggishly 
asleep  while  they  drift  slowly  along  with  the  mov- 
ing tide  made  by  others.  They  never  feel  the 
blessed  contagion  of  the  fire  of  God.  Their 
powers  lie  wrapped  up  in  closely  folded  napkin- 
cloths,  under  heavy  clods,  that  never  know  pick 
or  spade.  A  man  never  amounts  to  anything 
until  he  catches  fire.  Lack  of  use  robs  many 
men  of  self-mastery,  and  robs  the  needy  world 
of  their  needed  help. 

Mastery  means  full  use  and  full  control;  it 
does  not  mean  repression,  but  full  expression 
through  control.  It  means  control  of  the  body, 
developed,  and  held  to  its  true  use;  control  of 
the  mental  powers  developed  fully  and  held 
steady  to  their  true  use;  above  all,  control  of 
spirit,  the  master  of  all,  developed  and  reigning 
masterfully  over  all.  The  highest  seems  to  yield 
last  and  hardest.  Lack  of  control  in  the  realm 
of  one's  spirit  seems  the  commonest  of  all  weak- 
nesses. It  may  crop  out  in  the  wild  outburst 
of  rage,  or  the  sullen,  silent  rage  yet  more  to  be 
feared,  with  its  tenacious  memory  and  secret 
plottings. 

Men  strong  in  every  other  way  often  seem  weak 
here.     And  in  time  the  whole  fabric  is  affected. 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  i  2 1 

Nothing  injures  the  body  more  than  a  fierce  out- 
burst of  temper.  And  in  time  the  body,  tired- 
out  or  weakened  through  disease,  is  responsible 
for  much  lack  of  control  on  the  higher  levels. 
Greater  is  he  that  controlleth  his  spirit  than  he 
who  can  control  everything  else  but  cannot  do 
this. 

The  Mastery  oj  Jesus. 

That  rarely  masterful  man  Paul  gives  us  a  bit 
in  one  of  his  letters  that  is  full  of  fascination 
here.  He  has  been  speaking  of  the  fierce  storms 
of  passion  that  leave  many  a  man  badly  ship- 
wrecked. Then  he  passes  quickly  on  to  speak 
of  the  man  who  masterfully  rides  all  storms,  and 
brings  his  cargo  safely  in.  The  latter  man  has 
a  pilot  on  board  who  is  responsible  for  the  glad 
result.  But  instead  of  a  storm  figure  Paul  uses 
a  fruit  figure.  He  says :^  "The  fruit  of  the  Spirit 
is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering,  gentleness, 
goodness,  meekness,  faithfulness,"  and  then  the 
climax  is  reached  in  ''self-control,"  or  self-mas- 
tery. 

The  eight  traits  named  first  are  really  an  analy- 
sis of  that  named  last.  Each  is  a  phase  of  self- 
mastery.  Note  them  again.  Self-mastery  is  the 
tender  outgoing  of  the  heart  towards  God  and  all 
men;  this  is  the  normal  attitude  of  man  unhurt 
by  sin;  anything  less  or  different  is  abnormal. 
It  is  the  deep  glow  of  the  heart-fires  regardless 
of  the  dampening  dews  of  outer  circumstances; 

1  Galatians  =;:  22. 


122  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

the  quiet,  steady  stillness  of  spirit  even  when 
winds  blow  hard  and  storms  beat  fiercely;  the 
patient  enduring  without  time-limit  of  misunder- 
standings and  all  that  hurts  through  them;  the 
gracious  bending  of  one's  strength  to  the  needs  of 
others ;  the  being  thoroughly,  wholesomely  good ; 
the  forgetting  of  one's  self  in  the  absorbing  thought 
of  God  and  of  man;  and  the  full  unflagging 
meeting  of  all  that  is  due  from  us  or  needed 
from  us. 

This  winsome  picture  of  self-mastery  is  the 
result  of  the  Spirit's  sway.  This  is  a  return  to 
original  conditions.  The  wondrous  Spirit  who 
created  man's  home,  and  then  man  himself, 
comes  down  at  Jesus'  bidding  to  live  in  us.  He 
restores  the  original  likeness  blurred  and  rubbed 
out  by  sin.  Here  is  the  secret  of  self-mastery. 
A  man  never  achieves  it  alone.  Self  is  no  match 
for  self.  It  takes  more  than  self  to  master  self. 
This  mastery  is  not  by  self ;  it  is  o]  self  by  Another 
living  within  and  working  out  His  plans  by  our  re- 
quest and  glad  consent.  He  who  in  the  early  dawn 
of  man's  life  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life  comes  to  rebreathe  in  us,  and  reproduce  all 
of  his  original  ideal.  Man  had  broken  with  Him 
through  sin.  Now  the  break  has  been  mended 
by  Jesus,  and  the  original  Hkeness  is  restored  by 
His  Spirit  within. 

The  habitual  cultivation  of  the  friendly  mastery 
of  Jesus  draws  out  most  the  mastery  of  self  and 
of  circumstances.  The  keeping  of  the  body  pure 
and  sound  and  under  the  thumb  of  the  will:  the 


The  Problem  of  Self-Mastery  123 

keeping  of  the  miiid  clear  and  quiet  and  alert  and 
ever  bending  towards  a  keener  discipline;  the 
keeping  of  the  social  contacts  simple  and  warm 
and  cheeiy;  the  keeping  of  the  spirit  mggedly 
strong  and  softly  gentle ;  the  keeping  of  the  heart 
pure  in  its  loves  and  motives;  the  meeting  of  all 
difficulties  and  disappointments  with  the  cheeri- 
ness  which  regards  these  as  mere  subways 
through  to  places  farther  up  the  road;  and  with 
all  this,  under  and  through,  above  and  around  all, 
a  simxple,  confiding  trust  in  God  that  sings  most 
when  the  subway  lights  all  go  out — this  is  the 
roadway  to  self-mastery. 

It  was  trodden  by  Jesus  when  down  here.  It 
may  be  trodden  by  every  man  who  yields  to  the 
mastery  of 'Jesus.  There  is  no  mastery  without 
the  Master.  The  same  Holy  Spirit  who  con- 
trolled Jesus'  human  life  has  come  down  at  Jesus' 
request  to  control  our  lives.  With  Him  alongside, 
in  control,  a  man  can  climb  the  road  up  to  the 
heights.    Let  us  go  along  with  Him. 


THE    PROBLEM    OF    PAIN 


The  Commonness  of  Pain. 

Sorts  of  Pain. 

The  Source  of  Pain. 

Jesus  and  Pain. 

The  Mission  of  Pain. 

Compensations. 

Victory. 


The  Problem  of  Pain 


The  Commonness  oj  Pain, 

Pain  is  as  common  in  life  as  salt  in  the  sea,  and 
has  the  same  bitter  tang  and  the  same  power  to 
purify.  It  stands  with  hungry  hawk  eyes  at 
both  ends  of  a  man's  life ;  it  comes  ahead  of  him 
at  birth,  is  usually  felt  at  death,  and  keeps  close 
by,  with  haunting  vigilance,  all  the  way  between. 

It  has  all  the  qualities  of  the  fire  that  burns,  of 
the  knife  that  cuts,  of  the  bitter  drink  that  makes 
you  shrink  back,  and  of  the  acid  that  eats  its 
way  insistently  in.  And  some  have  found  that  it 
has  other  companion  qualities;  for  fire  cleanses, 
the  surgeon's  knife  cuts  out  the  bad,  the  bitter 
drink  tones  up,  and  the  acid  neutralizes  the  evil. 

Everybody  has  suffered  pain,  and  does,  and 
will.  It  is  as  common  as  sin,  and  has  the  same 
biting  taste.  One  can  scarcely  walk  the  streets, 
or  attend  a  church  service  without  seeing  the 
badge  of  pain  in  face,  or  form,  or  dress.  The 
mail  coming  in,  and  the  calling  cards,  contain 
the  same  dark  reminder.  Ever  since  Eden  the 
broken  sob  of  its  music  has  sounded  through 
time  as  a  minor  dirge,  but  with  the  constant  in- 
terruption of  discord,  and  of  loss  of  all  sense  of 
rhythm. 

127 


128  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

In  some  lives  the  problem  of  pain  pushes  its 
keen  edge  in  early;  in  some  not  for  a  long  while; 
but  sooner  or  later  it  comes,  demanding  impe- 
riously to  be  considered  and  explained.  No 
problem  has  been  more  puzzling,  or  more  puzzled 
over,  and  none  more  acute,  because  it  edges  its 
sharp  way  so  very  close  into  the  life,  and  so  near 
to  the  most  tender  and  sacred  relationships.  It 
has  baflied  much  study,  and  embittered  the  lives 
of  thousands.  But  other  thousands,  though  not 
understanding  fully,  have  learned  the  secret  of 
extracting  sweets  in  the  place  where  bitter  grows. 
Many  have  found  in  it,  or,  better,  through  it,  the 
elixir  of  a  new  life. 

Sorts  of  Pain. 

Pain  is  of  two  general  sorts,  pain  of  body  and 
pain  of  spirit.  At  the  time  of  that  first  break  in 
Eden,  Eve  was  told  that  there  would  be  pain  of 
body  in  the  natural  course  of  her  hfe,  quite  apart 
from  sickness  or  disease,  and  that  prophetic  word 
has  had  continuous  fulfilment  through  all  the 
centuries  since.  Pain  through  disease  which 
disturbs  the  body,  and  through  the  weakness 
that  keeps  it  from  its  full  stint  of  work,  has  been 
as  common.  Then  pain  of  body  through  vio- 
lence, through  man's  inhumanity  to  his  brothers, 
and  through  the  ravages  of  war,  has  added 
intensity  to  the  sum  of  suffering. 

Pain  of  spirit  is  keener,  harder  to  bear,  and 
lasts  longer  than  pain  of  body.  It  comes  through 
bitter  remorse  or  regret  over  one's  own  conduct. 


The  Problem  of  Pain  i  29 

through  disappointed  hopes  and  plans,  through 
lack  of  being  appreciated,  and  through  lack  of  a 
return  love.  It  comes  through  the  subjection  of 
our  immature  powers  to  discipline,  which  need 
not  be  painful  but  most  often  is,  in  proportion 
to  the  strength  of  the  character  so  being  matured ; 
it  comes  through  the  chafing  of  an  unwilling 
spirit  against  the  simple,  natural  discipHne  of  life, 
which  brings  out  fully  our  strength  and  beauty. 

Then  in  our  relation  to  others  pain  comes 
through  failure  in  those  we  love,  through  being 
deceived  by  them,  and  through  the  wounding  of 
family  pride.  The  pain  suffered  by  our  loved 
ones  brings  keen  pain  to  us,  and  the  pain  of  having 
them  slip  from  our  grasp  out  of  life  may  be 
shorter,  but-  is  always  sharper  and  severer,  v^dth 
the  dull  throbbing  that  so  often  follows. 

There  is  a  sharp  pain  through  culture,  pro- 
portioned in  its  sharpness  to  the  extent  of  the 
culture,  and  softened  in  its  expression  by  the 
warmth  of  one's  sympathy  with  others.  The  ear 
trained  to  finest  harmonies  is  keenly  sensitive 
to  poor  music.  The  eye  trained  to  fine  blend- 
ing of  colors  is  pained  by  immature  and  untaught 
work.  The  mind  drilled  to  the  discriminating 
use  of  simple,  strong  language  suffers  a  bit  at 
contact  with  the  reverse.  The  heart  made  pure 
through  contact  with  God,  and  through  painful 
heroic  discipHne,  is  pained  at  the  sight  and  touch 
of  sin. 

The  heart  grown  tender  through  the  Spirit  of 
Jesus  within  is  hurt  by  the  suffering  of  the  dis- 
9 


130  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

tressed.  The  spirit  made  eager  for  the  highest 
ideals  in  life  through  the  study  of  the  Bible,  the 
classic  of  ideals,  is  pained  over  the  conditions 
prevalent  in  all  walks  of  life.  The  man  who 
knows  the  blessedness  of  knowing  God  bleeds  at 
heart  for  those  ignorant  of  Him. 

The  emergency  that  the  whole  world  is  in 
through  sin  calls  for  sacrifices  that  bring  great 
pain  of  spirit.  A  young  man  in  a  small  church 
college  in  the  middle  West  was  stirred  by  the  needs 
of  the  foreign  mission  fields.  He  determined  to 
offer  his  life  and  service  to  help  meet  that  need. 
But  before  committing  himself  actively  with  his 
church  authorities  he  wrote  to  her  who  had  given 
him  life,  telling  her  of  the  burning  desire  in  his 
heart,  and  asking  her  consent.  By  and  by  the 
answering  letter  came.  It  was  blotted  with 
tears.  Its  pages  brought  up  a  vivid  picture  of 
that  mother's  face  and  heart.  She  replied,  in 
effect  giving  her  consent,  and  then  writing  down 
these  words:  "I  never  knew  until  now  how  much 
it  cost  God  to  give  His  Son." 

Many  a  one  has  suffered  all  these  different 
sorts  of  pain  at  some  time,  and  many  of  them  at 
the  same  time.  They  all  gather  within  the  hu- 
man spirit,  incased  temporarily  in  a  human  body. 
Job  suffered  pocket  pain  through  loss  of  property, 
heart  pain  through  loss  of  his  children,  pain  of 
body  through  disease,  pain  to  his  pride  through 
loss  of  prestige  and  the  criticism  of  his  friends, 
pain  of  spirit  in  puzzling  over  why  it  all  came  to 
him;   then  the  hardest  bodily  pain  in  continued 


The  Problem  of  Pain  i  3 1 

pain,  and  at  the  last  the  severest  spirit  pain  in 
realizing  how  different  he  was  from  the  God  he 
worshipped. 

The  Source  of  Pain. 

Pain  is  the  distressed  outcry  of  a  broken  order; 
pain  of  body  comes  through  some  breaking  of 
nature's  arrangements  there;  pain  of  spirit 
through  consciousness  of  elements  within  or 
without  that  strain  and  jar,  and  clash  and  break. 
All  pain  is  a  result  of  sin,  somebody's  sin,  some- 
time, somewhere.  The  connection  can  rarely 
be  traced,  and  never  traced  fully,  but  it  is  there. 

That  connection  may  be  direct,  where  a  man's 
own  actions  cause  the  break  that  cries  out  its 
distress  in  pain.  Through  ignorance  of  the  body's 
nature  and  needs,  or  through  thoughtlessness  or 
passionate  desire  where  we  do  know,  the  break 
is  made.  The  pain  does  not  always  come  at  once. 
Nature  is  very  patient  and  long-suffering,  but 
come  it  will,  however  long  the  wait,  for  she  is 
likewise  very  exacting.  Countless  instances  of  so 
called  *' mysterious  providences"  are  a  result  of 
hardships  we  thoughtlessly  or  wilfully  inflict 
upon  our  bodies. 

For  a  number  of  years  I  have  been  trying  to 
observe  closely  instances  where  sickness  and  death 
have  come,  causing  a  great  shock  and  deep  sorrow, 
and  either  criticisms  of  God  or  a  long  drawn  sob 
over  the  strange  dispensations  of  providence. 
Yet  from  the  bits  of  information  available  it  was, 
in  each  instance,  clearly  evident  that  the  death 


132  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

that  seemed  so  untimely  and  strange  could  be 
traced  directly  to  the  person's  own  acts  done  in 
ignorance;  but  most  times,  if  not  always,  a 
thoughtless  ignorance  that  a  bit  of  thinking  could 
have  prevented. 

Then  there  is  the  indirect  or  more  remote  con- 
nection. Whatever  we  believe  about  original 
sin  as  a  teaching  of  moral  truth,  we  are  all  com- 
pelled to  believe  in  a  transmission,  through  the 
blood,  of  traits  that  are  a  result  of  sin  in  those 
who  have  lived  before  us,  either  near  or  remote. 
That  physical  traiits  and  ailments  pass  faithfully 
and  ruthlessly  on  through  generations  is  fa- 
miliar enough.  Most  men  come  into  life  with 
the  story  of  somebody's  sin,  whether  through 
carelessness  or  wilfulness,  written  down  on  the 
tablet  of  their  bodies. 

It  is  extremely  common  to  hear  work  spoken  of 
as  a  curse,  as  though  a  punishment  for  man's  sin, 
or  a  result  of  his  sin.  Yet  work  itself  is  in  no 
sense  a  curse,  but  a  positive  delight,  and  a  help. 
But  the  conditions  that  sin  has  woven  around 
work  have  made  much  of  it  a  straining,  grinding 
drudgery.  The  break  of  sin  left  and  leaves  man 
with  less  than  his  normal  strength.  It  has  af- 
fected the  earth  so  that  it  does  not  yield  so  read- 
ily to  his  efforts,  and  further  increases  his  stint  of 
work  by  producing  thorns  and  such  growths  as 
must  be  fought  and  overcome.  And  so  with  less 
than  nature's  allowance  of  strength,  and  more 
than  nature's  allotted  task,  very  much  work  be- 
comes to  thousands  a  grinding,  slaving,  cheerless 


The  Problem  of  Pain 


33 


round  that  brings  pain.  It  can  all  be  traced  to 
sin,  the  break  in  the  natural  order. 

Job's  friends,  or  critics,  supposed  that  his  pain 
and  numerous  distresses  were  a  punishment  sent 
by  God  because  of  his  sin.  Job  resents  such  talk. 
He  felt  instinctively  that  he  had  been  on  such 
terms  with  God  as  to  shut  out  any  such  thought 
as  punishment.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  God 
is  not  punishing  men  in  the  sending  of  pain  and 
affliction.  God  is  not  dealing  with  men  in  judg- 
ment ;  if  He  were  the  case  would  be  settled  at 
once  for  all  of  us.  Judgment  is  reserved  for 
future  final  settlement.  And  even  then  punish- 
ment is  not  a  thing  that  God  chooses  to  be  meted 
out  to  us  as  a  judgment  for  our  misdeeds.  It  is 
something  included  in  the  sin  itself.  The  worst 
thing  God  could  do  to  any  man  would  be  to  leave 
him  utterly  alone  to  the  working  out  of  his  sin. 
In  great  graciousness  He  does  not  do  that.  But 
He  does  keep  hands  off  in  part,  and  permits  much 
of  the  result  of  sin  to  work  its  way  out.  And  so 
pain  comes  through  the  break  in  the  natural 
order. 

The  first  mention  of  pam  m  tne  Bible  is  in 
connection  with  the  difiiculty  with  which  woman 
would  perform  the  most  difficult  and  delicate 
task  entrusted  to  her.  All  the  life  of  the  body 
is  from  God.  The  natural  life  is  hved  in  full 
contact  with  Him.  That  first  sin  was  a  break 
with  God.  Any  break  interrupts  partially  the 
flow  of  life  from  Him  to  us.  The  bodily  duties 
are  then  done  with  difficulty,  for  some  of  its  vital- 


134  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

ity  has  been  cut  off.  In  the  most  difficult  duty  the 
lack  is  most  keenly  felt. 

Had  we  fulness  of  knowledge,  and  subtlety  of 
insight,  every  bit  of  pain  could  be  traced  clearly, 
logically,  step  by  step  back  to  some  act  of  sin. 
And  the  tracing  would  be  thought  a  strangely 
interwoven  network  of  sin  and  that  which  sin 
causes.  This  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  the 
pain  is  the  result  of  the  sin  of  the  man  who  suffers 
the  pain.  Clearly  there  is  a  vast  amount  of  pain 
on  account  of  others'  acts. 

Life  is  such  an  intricate  network  that  no  man 
can  move  or  breathe  without  affecting  somebody 
else.  How  terribly  selfish  sin  is.  Every  act  of 
sin  brings  pain  to  somebody  else,  to  those  nearest 
and  most  tenderly  loved,  and  those  at  the  farthest 
reach  of  influence.  Jesus  suffered  severest,  keen- 
est pain  of  both  body  and  spirit  through  sin — 
the  sin  of  others.  Every  bit  of  pain  that  came 
to  Him  came  either  through  particular  acts  of 
sin,  or  through  the  whole  fog  of  sin  that  envel- 
oped His  life  as  an  atmosphere. 

There  seems  to  be  on  record  in  the  Bible  just 
one  exception  to  this.  Jacob  was  lamed  in  his 
body  by  the  strange  touch  in  the  night  wrestle, 
in  the  dark,  done  by  Jabbok's  narrow  waters. 
A  direct  act  of  God  afflicted  the  natural  order  of 
his  body.  Yet  this  seems  to  be  the  only  instance 
of  the  sort  mentioned  in  the  long  list  of  Bible 
biographies.  And,  too,  there  may  not  have  been 
actual  bodily  pain,  though  there  was  a  crippled 
body  hindering  and  hampering  his  activity.     The 


The  Problem  of  Pain  135 

condition  of  his  body  gave  his  spirit  keen  pain,  no 
doubt;  yet  that  was  because  it  reminded  him  at 
every  step  of  his  wilful  stubbornness  against  God, 
and  God's  plan. 

And  mark  keenly  that  here  this  unusual  thing 
was  done  for  service^  sake.  God's  plan  for  a 
world  centred  at  this  stage  in  this  one  man. 
In  His  passionate  outreach  for  a  race,  He  was 
shut  in  to  using  Jacob.  The  unusual  act 
told  the  greatness  and  the  acuteness  of  the 
emergency. 

So  there  may  be  in  rare  cases  a  direct  touch 
of  God  when  some  great  purpose  requires  it. 
But  clearly  that  is  very  rare.  God  does  not  need 
to  resort  to  such  measures,  as  a  rule.  There  are 
always  enough  doorways  opened  through  sin's 
breaks  to  give  all  the  opportunity  needed  for  dis- 
ciplinary work.  The  rareness  of  such  action 
gives  peculiar  emphasis  to  the  general  principle 
that  pain  comes  through  the  natural  channel  of  a 
break  in  the  natural  order. 

The  vast,  intricate,  subtly  intangible,  but  ter- 
ribly real  network  of  sin  envelops  all  life.  One 
cannot  move  without  touching  and  being  touched 
by  its  meshes.  The  atmosphere  of  life  has  be- 
come affected  by  sin  as  by  a  pervasive  gray  fog. 
One  cannot  draw  the  breath  of  Hf  e,  however  lack- 
ing in  mental  or  spirit  culture,  without  suffering 
pain,  however  little  he  may  think  of  it.  The 
very  stupidness  to  pain  at  times  spells  out  the 
commonness  of  it,  and  its  hardening,  dulling  effect 
upon  the  spirit. 


136  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Jesus  and  Pain. 

But  it  has  been  said  that  Jesus  came  to  bear  our 
sins,  and  all  of  their  results;  that  through  His 
sacrifice  not  only  are  our  sins  forgiven,  but  our 
bodies  are  to  be  healed,  and  all  sickness  and  pain 
to  be  removed.  It  is  said  that  Jesus  came  to 
destroy  the  works  of  the  devil,  and  this  has  been 
taken  to  mean  to  destroy  both  sin  and  all  of  its 
results.  And  all  of  this  is  true,  blessedly  and 
wondrously  true.  Yet  simply  to  say  that  much 
is  not  to  tell  the  whole  of  the  truth.  There  is 
more  to  be  added  to  make  clear  how  sweeping 
Jesus'  work  is,  not  only  for  all  the  life  of  a  man, 
but  for  all  men. 

The  salvation  from  sin,  and  all  its  results,  that 
Jesus  came  to  work  out  is  not  completed.  It  is 
completed  so  far  as  He  is  concerned,  but  not  so 
far  as  the  world  is  concerned.  It  is  complete  in 
His  dying  and  rising,  but  not  in  its  application. 
The  ''finished  work  of  Christ"  for  the  world  is 
finished  by  Him,  but  not  finished  in  it.  The 
salvation  worked  out  on  the  cross  is  to  be  worked 
out  among  men.  Each  man's  salvation  is  worked 
out  for  him,  but  not  yet  fully  worked  out  in 
him. 

The  present  is  a  transition  period,  a  long  period, 
it  is  true,  now  counted  into  the  twentieth  cen- 
tury, yet  a  transition  period,  preparing  the  way 
for  a  period  of  fulness.  It  is  a  time  of  working 
and  waiting  and  looking  forward  to  something 
much  better.    Those  who  stood  closest  to  Jesus 


The  Problem  of  Pain  137 

preached  ^  that  He  would  remain  away  until  His 
dying  for  all  men  had  been  made  known  to  all 
men,  then  He  would  return  to  carry  out  the  ful- 
ness of  His  plan  of  saving  men. 

Paul  says  that  then  Jesus  will  put  down  all  our 
enemies  including  the  last — death,  the  culmina- 
tion of  all.  The  fulness  of  our  salvation  waits 
upon  the  spreading  of  the  news  of  Jesus  to  all 
men.  Here  is  a  strong  inner  motive  for  world- 
wide evangelization.  The  carrying  out  fully  of 
the  Master's  plan  in  that  will  bring  to  us  the 
fulness  of  our  freeness  from  sin  and  all  its  re- 
sults. 

But,  we  are  reminded,  Jesus  healed  disease 
when  here,  and  relieved  every  form  of  bodily 
distress.  Yes,  He  did.  The  Gospel  days  were 
sample  days  of  the  Kingdom.  Jesus  had  not 
yet  been  accepted,  and  so  the  Kingdom  was  not 
set  up.  He  had  not  yet  been  finally  rejected, 
but  was  wooing  the  nation,  and  so  He  gave  illus- 
trations of  Kingdom  days  and  of  Kingdom  power. 
We  live  in  the  Church  period.  The  Church  occu- 
pies the  gap  in  the  Kingdom.  When  the  Church 
mission  is  completed  the  Kingdom  will  come  in, 
with  the  Church  itself  as  a  part  of  the  larger 
movement.  Healing,  removal  of  pain,  is  a  law 
for  all  in  the  Kingdom;  it  is  a  pri\ilege  in  the 
Church  for  those  who  will  accept  it;  and  a  gift 
to  be  exercised  by  the  very  few  who  can  be 
entrusted  with  it. 

^  Acts  3:21;  Romans  8:  20-23;  I.Corinthians  15:23-26, 
with  Matthew  24:  14. 


138  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

The  Mission  of  Pain. 

This  leads  at  once  to  the  question  of  the  mis- 
sion of  pain.  Pain  has  a  great  mission.  While 
God  does  not  send  pain,  He  lets  it  stay,  though 
He  might  intervene  and  take  it  away.  While  as 
a  rule,  with  possibly  rare  exceptions,  it  comes 
through  sin,  it  remains  through  the  deliberate 
purpose  of  God.  God  has  a  great  purpose  of 
love  in  pain.  He  uses  it  as  His  teacher.  It  is 
the  greatest  of  all  His  great  teachers.  It  charges 
the  very  highest  rates,  insists  upon  the  severest 
discipline,  will  tolerate  nothing  short  of  the  high- 
est ideal,  needs  our  sympathetic  help  in  working, 
and  produces  the  very  finest  results. 

God's  greatest  struggle  has  been  with  the  hu- 
man will.  He  made  man  a  sovereign  in  his  will, 
and  right  well  man  has  proven  his  sovereignty. 
All  of  the  great  wealth  of  God's  love  and  plan- 
ning can  be  given  only  by  our  own  free  consent. 
Sin  has  twisted  our  eyes.  We  prefer  something 
else  to  God's  way.  Our  preference  is  not  good; 
it  is  bad ;  only  His  is  good.  He  insists  upon  giv- 
ing His  best.  It  can  be  given  only  through  our  con- 
sent. So  His  greatest  task  has  been  with  man's 
will,  to  get  man's  consent  to  live  on  God's  plan, 
and  receive  the  wealth  of  God's  planning.  A  great 
task  it  has  been;  God's  hardest  task;  sometimes 
an  impossible  task ;  some  men  won't  yield.  It  has 
been  a  stupendous  task,  for  man's  will  has  in  it  the 
strength  of  God's  will.  And  sin  has  swung  the  will's 
natural  strength  over  to  the  extreme  of  obstinacy. 


The  Problem  of  Pain  139 

And  so  God  has  had  to  use  the  greatest  thing 
He  could  find  to  overcome  the  bad,  weak  obsti- 
nacy in  man's  will.  Pain  is  His  severest,  most 
thorough,  oftentimes  his  only  successful  agent. 
He  does  not  make  it.  Sin  made  it.  He  uses  it. 
It  is  a  bit  of  the  diplomacy  of  love  that  takes  a  re- 
sult of  bad,  and  uses  it  to  offset  the  bad,  and  get 
good.  His  lo\e  must  be  very  great  to  hold  Him 
steady  to  His  purpose;  for  what  pains  any  man 
pains  God  too,  because  it  pains  the  man. 

There  is  nothing  that  so  breaks  the  stubborn- 
ness of  a  man's  spirit,  and  bends  the  obstinacy 
of  his  will,  as  pain.  It  comes  eating  its  way  in  so 
subtly,  so  cuttingly,  so  relentlessly  and  insistently, 
that  all  the  footing  sHps  out  from  under  a  man, 
his  jaws  relax,  and  his  fist  loosens  into  a  hand 
again.  Frequently  the  stiffest-set  jaws  will  con- 
sent to  relax  only  under  the  peculiarly  persuasive 
edge  of  the  knife  of  pain. 

In  that  old  rare  gem  of  literature,  the  book  of 
Job,  the  evil  that  came  to  Job  came  through  nat- 
ural channels,  at  the  secret  instigation  of  the  evil 
one,  by  permission  of  God,  and  strictly  within 
the  limits  He  set.  WTien  the  purpose  of  God  in 
the  moulding  of  Job's  character  was  secured, 
the  pain  was  quickly  removed,  and  greater  bless- 
ings than  ever  he  had  known  were  poured  out 
lavishly  upon  him. 

There  is  an  intensely  vivid  picture  of  God's 
love,  its  yearningness,  and  strong  patience,  and 
dissatisfaction  with  less  than  the  best.  It  is  in 
Malachi's   prophecy.     The   expert   workman   in 


140  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

refining  metals  sits  patiently  over  the  pot  of  liquid 
metal,  picking  out  the  dross  sent  up  to  the  sur- 
face by  the  intense  fire,  watching  keenly  for  every 
speck  and  spot,  until  by  and  by  his  own  face  is 
clearly  reflected  in  that  over  which  he  is  working. 
Then,  the  process  complete,  the  metal  pure,  the 
fire  is  withdrawn.     Its  work  is  done. 

So,  we  are  told,  God  does.  Pain  is  a  fire, 
sometimes  heated  seven  times  hotter  than  usual. 
God's  love  and  great  ideal  for  us  hold  Him 
steady  while  the  dross  is  being  removed.  He  is 
not  content  until  He  sees  again  clearly  reflected 
that  great  likeness  of  Himself  in  which  we  were 
originally  made.  When  the  likeness  is  clear  and 
full  the  fire  is  withdrawn.  And  in  the  after- 
glory  that  shall  come  the  pain  will  seem  light, 
and  the  time  only  a  moment;  yet  how  impos- 
sible that  often  seems  at  the  time  of  suffer- 
ing. 

The  last  time  I  heard  Mrs.  Margaret  Bottome 
she  told  of  meeting  an  old  friend  in  Europe.  This 
friend  was  an  unusually  gifted  woman,  who  knew 
much  of  the  world's  culture  and  prestige.  She 
had  had  a  bad  break  in  health,  and  was  seeking 
to  find  recovery  abroad.  As  Mrs.  Bottome  met 
her,  so  great  was  the  change  in  her  friend's  ap- 
pearance through  the  [illness  that  she  involun- 
tarily exclaimed,  "What  a  wreck!"  And  the 
friend  quickly  replied,  with  her  soul  in  her  voice, 
''Any  wreck  for  such  a  shore!"  She  was  al- 
ready getting  a  taste  of  the  after-glory.  Yet  had 
she  gone  to  school  to  God  with  her  will  earlier, 


The  Problem  of  Pain  141 

her  bark  would  have  reached  the  same  shore  by 
straight  sailing  instead  of  by  stranding. 

Compensations. 

Pain  has  great  compensations.  Its  power  to 
purify  and  refine  is  very  great.  It  shakes  loose, 
and  sifts  carefully  out,  the  coarse  and  poor  and 
bad.  It  weaves  over  the  texture  of  one's  life  into 
a  much  finer  fabric.  The  fire  that  burns  also 
cleanses;  the  knife  that  hurts  so  is  remo\ing 
that  which  will  hurt  more  seriously;  the  bitter 
draught  from  which  we  draw  back  so  btrongly 
has  great  tonic  power.  But  the  pain  needs  help 
to  do  its  best  work.  There  needs  to  be  a  looking 
steadily  through  the  pain  up  to  the  great  purpose 
of  God,  and  on  to  the  compensations,  if  it  is  to 
produce  the  finest  results.  To  be  made  pure  and 
fine  is  a  full  compensation  for  great  pain. 

Then  there  is  the  sympathy  of  Jesus.  To  use 
the  word  sympathy  of  Him  in  this  way  is  to  say 
that  He  knew  pain.  He  knew  it  with  a  greater 
intimacy  than  any  other  human  that  has  trodden 
the  earth,  for  He  was  more  keenly  sensitive  to  it. 
Every  pain  that  man  has  suffered  Jesus  suffered, 
except  of  course  that  coming  through  remorse  or 
regret.  Every  pain  that  man  knows  was  intensi- 
fied in  Jesus;  the  purity  of  His  nature,  the  sin- 
lessness  of  His  life,  the  sensitiveness  of  His  great 
spirit  made  Him  more  keenly  alive  to  pain,  and  so 
made  it  the  greater  as  experienced  by  Him. 

But  more  than  that.  He  went  through  the  trying 
and  maturing  experiences  of  His  life  that  so  He 


142  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

might  have  a  perfect  sympathy  with  our  humanity. 
He  was  made  perfect  in  His  humanity  by  the 
experiences  He  went  through.  Only  so  can  a 
man  learn.  Jesus  was  perfectly  human  in  going 
through  human  experiences.  He  did  it  purposely, 
with  a  great,  strong  purpose,  that  He  might  be 
one  with  us.  So  He  becomes  our  keen,  warm 
sympathizer. 

He  suffered  pain  that  so  He  might  help  us  in 
our  suffering  of  pain.  He  can  come  near  be- 
cause He  knows  by  touch  what  we  know.  There 
is  marvellous  compensation  in  this,  the  sympathy 
of  such  a  one  as  Jesus. 

A  man  who  knows  anything  at  all  of  the  win- 
someness  and  attractiveness  of  Jesus  would  be 
glad  to  go  anywhere  for  the  chance  of  getting 
closer  to  Him.  He  doesn't  mind  a  rough  road 
if  in  it  the  Master  draws  nearer;  doesn't  mind  it! 
— ^he  prefers  it  under  such  circumstances.  The 
wild  storm  on  the  sea  is  welcomed  if  so  you  feel 
His  arm  tighter  around  you,  and  His  presence 
more  tenderly  near,  and  His  face  almost  seen  by 
your  outer  eyes. 

Jesus  relieved  suffering  when  down  here  long 
ago.  He  seemed  to  delight  in  relieving  it.  He 
would  fairly  wear  Himself  out  in  caring  for  men, 
though  He  had  rare  wisdom  to  avoid  the  bad  ex- 
tremes that  we  know  so  well.  He  seemed 
to  forget  His  own  needs  as  long  as  there  was 
any  needy  body  waiting  a  chance  to  be  healed. 
Those  great  miracles  of  healing  were  not  done 
to  prove  His  divinity;   they  were  done  because 


The  Problem  of  Pain  143 

He  was  divine;  it  was  the  love  of  divinity  go- 
ing out  eagerly  to  His  needy  race  of  men. 
They  did  prove  His  divinity,  incidentally;  but 
were  not  done  for  that  purpose,  but  to  relieve 
men.  So  He  reveals  to  us  His  feeling  towards 
pain.  He  knows  its  sharp,  cutting  edge.  He  has 
power  to  remove  it.  He  will  remove  it  for  us 
now  if  so  the  higher  thing  in  mind  can  be  reached 
too.  He  could,  and  would,  remove  it  for  more 
if  there  were  more  reaching  up  after  the  highest. 
When  the  pain  remains,  so  does  He.  When  it 
seems  sharpest  He  comes  nearest.  And  amid  the 
tugging  twinges  His  presence  makes  one  sing  joy- 
ously, though  often  with  a  tremor  in  the  voice, — • 

"E'en  though  it  be  a  cross 
That  raiseth  me, 
Still  all  my  song  shall  be, 
Nearer,  my  God,  to  Thee." 

Then  there  is  the  compensation  of  being  Jesus' 
messenger  to  others.  Suffering  qualifies  us  for 
ministering  to  those  who  suffer.  Without  doubt 
God  permits  some  experiences  to  come  to  us  that 
so  He  may  use  us  to  help  others  passing  through 
just  such  experiences.  I  recall  an  English  clergy- 
man speaking  of  this  at  a  conference  in  Boston. 
He  had  gone  through  a  most  trying  experience. 
For  days,  he  said,  all  was  dark  to  him.  He  could 
not  understand  the  way  he  was  being  led.  At 
last  light  broke  in  through  a  particular  passage 
of  Scripture,  and  all  cleared  up.  He  preached  on 
that  passage  the  next  Sabbath  morning. 

At  the  close  of  the  ser\ice  one  of  his  members 


144  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

came  up  with  eyes  aglow,  and  surprise  in  her 
voice,  and  said,  ''How  did  you  know  what  I  have 
been  passing  through  ?  "  He  said  he  didn't  know. 
Then  she  explained  that  he  had  spoken  of  her 
identical  experience,  and  through  his  message 
the  light  and  peace  had  come  anew  to  her.  Others 
spoke  in  surprise  of  the  same  thing  happening 
to  them.  Then  he  understood,  and  was  grateful 
indeed  to  be  God's  messenger.  And  more  than 
grateful,  he  was  willing  to  go  through  any 
experience  the  Master  might  send  if  so  he  could 
better  serve  Him  among  his  own  fellows.  Even 
so  must  God  do  in  teaching  men.  We  can  tell 
to  others  only  what  we  know  personally.  He 
can  use  in  telling  the  truth  only  those  who  know 
it.  Experience  is  equipment  for  service.  Grief 
qualifies  us  to  help  those  with  like  grief. 

There  is  a  right  use  of  grief  and  a  wrong,  weak 
use  of  it.  Its  right  use  is  to  let  it  be  a  motive  im- 
pelling us  to  help  those  who  have  had  the  same 
trying  experience.  Its  wrong  and  weak  use  is  to 
let  it  remain  simply  an  emotion  draining  our 
strength.  In  the  midst  of  his  great  sorrow  Ten- 
nyson wrote — 

"Ring  out  the  grief  that  saps  the  mind, 
For  those  that  here  we  see  no  more." 

We  should  ring  it  out,  and  resolutely  keep  it  out, 
as  a  mere  emotion  that  saps  and  wears. 

Activity  in  service  is  a  help  in  bearing  what 
comes.  Pain  has  its  temptations.  One  of  them 
is  the  use  of  moral  chloroform;  the  dulling  of  our 


The  Problem  of  Pain  145 

sense  of  pain  in  a  round  of  dissipation,  or  of  dis- 
tracting gayety.  It  only  puts  off  the  evil  hour 
of  feeling  it  more  keenly  than  ever,  with  less  of 
moral  strength  with  which  to  bear  it. 

There  are,  too,  some  wondrous  compensations 
in  that  keen  pain  of  having  the  one  who  has  been 
by  your  side,  a  bit  of  your  very  self,  slip  from 
your  grasp,  out  of  reach,  into  the  other  life.  To 
have  known  love,  to  have  loved  and  been  loved, 
is  to  have  known  the  sweetest  and  most  lasting  of 
all  life's  joys.  It  makes  one  the  stronger  and 
gentler.  The  love  that  has  stood  the  test  of  time 
weaves  the  finest  threads  into  the  life  web.  To 
love  is  to  live.  The  life  is  richer  and  deeper,  finer 
and  more  fragrant,  for  the  love  that  has  come  in, 
and  that  has  been  drawn  out,  even  though  for  a 
time  the  one  loved  and  loving  has  slipped  from 
your  side  upwards. 

Then  there  is  the  heritage  of  a  memory  that  will 
grow  in  its  fragrance  and  richness  with  the  passing 
days.  That  is  one  of  the  cushions  to  ease  the 
heart,,  for  the  bit  of  time  in  between  now  and  the 
future  meeting.  And  then  we  must  not  be  for- 
getting that  the  loss  is  of  companionship  down 
here;  all  of  that;  yet  only  that.  That  is  much, 
yet  it  is  only  for  a  while,  that  the  old  Book  calls 
little,  ''how  little!  how  little  1"  ' 

"A  day  and  you  will  meet; 
A  night  and  you  will  greet."  ^ 

^Hebrews  10:37,  literally,  "for  yet  a  little  while — how 
little,  how  little,  and  He"  etc. 
2  Mahbie  D.  Babcock. 
10 


1 46  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

But  when  you  miss  present  companionship, 
there  is  great  joy  in  thinking  over  the  wondrous 
companionship  enjoyed  by  the  one  loved,  and 
now  gone.  The  companionship  of  Jesus  now 
makes  that  face  all  alight  with  the  radiance  from 
His,  while  the  marvellous  music  of  the  homeland 
fills  ears  and  heart.  Your  loved  one,  side  by 
side  with  the  Master,  thinks  of  you,  and  is  quiet 
and  glad  for  all  the  joy  coming  to  you,  and  all  the 
loving  sovereignty  of  Jesus  over  your  life.  He 
is  enjoying  the  fulness  of  life. 

"  This  is  the  death  of  death, 
To  breathe  away  a  breath, 
And  know  the  end  of  strife, 
And  taste  the  endless  life. 
And  joy  without  a  fear, 
And  smile  without  a  tear. 
And  work,  nor  care,  nor  rest. 
And  find  the  last  the  best."  ' 

And  if  it  be  the  one  of  closest  tie  who  has  gone, 
a  husband  or  wife,  leaving  a  child  in  your  care, 
there  is  more  yet  of  sweet,  hallowed  compensation. 
It  is  the  highest  relation  of  life  that  yields  the 
finest  fragrance.  For  there  is  the  fine  fruit  of  your 
love,  a  precious  new  life,  God's  gift  to  you  reveal- 
ing and  cementing  earth's  highest,  human  love.  In 
your  child,  his  or  hers  likewise  who  has  gone, 
that  loved  one  comes  again  to  you,  and  abides 
ever  with  you.  And  yours  is  the  unspeakable 
privilege  of  moulding  into  finest  character  this 
bit  of  your  loved  one's  life  left  behind  with  you^ 
This  is  a  great  compensation. 

^  Maltbie  D.  Babcock. 


The  Problem  of  Pain 


H7 


And  so  in  the  midst  of  greatest  pain  there  may 
come  the  sweetest  rest  of  spirit,  because  of  these 
great  compensations.  And,  more  than  all  else, 
because  of  the  presence  of  the  greatest  Sufferer 
and  greatest  Sympathizer  as  our  closest  Friend. 
Through  Him  is  rest  in  pain  of  any  sort. 

"There  is  a  rest  that  deeper  grows 

In  midst  of  pain  and  strife; 
A  mighty  conscious  willed  repose 

In  depth  of  deepest  life. 
To  have  and  hold  the  precious  prize 

No  need  of  jealous  fear; 
But  windows  open  to  the  skies, 

And  skill  to  read  the  stars. 

Who  dwelleth  in  that  secret  place, 

Where  tumult  enters  not, 
Is  never  cold  with  terror  base, 

Never  with  anger  hot. 
For  if  an  evil  past  should  dare 

His  very  heart  invest, 
God  is  his  deeper  heart,  and  there 

He  enters  into  rest. 

When  mighty  sea  winds  madly  blow. 

And  tear  the  scattered  waves, 
Peaceful  as  summer  woods  below 

Lie  darkling  ocean  caves. 
The  wind  of  words  may  toss  my  heart, 

But  what  is  that  to  me! 
'Tis  but  a  surface  storm — Thou  art 

My  deep,  still,  resting  sea."  ^ 

Victory. 

But  there  is  a  gladder  message  yet  for  the  bells 
to  ring  out  tunefully  to  all  men.     It  is  this — there 

^  George  MacDonald. 


148  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

is  to  be  victory  over  pain.  It  will  be  a  full  vic- 
tory too,  with  the  flags  flying,  and  the  music  filling 
all  the  air,  and  sweetest  in  its  filling  of  all  the  heart. 

There  are  certain  foretastes  of  victory.  The 
nearer  we  come  to  living  in  full  touch  with  God, 
with  intelligent  knowledge  of  the  nature  and 
needs  of  our  bodies,  the  nearer  shall  we  come  to 
a  life  free  from  bodily  pain.  This  will  not  re- 
move bodily  pain  and  discomfort  wholly,  for  we 
are  a  bit  of  all  that  has  gone  before.  Each  man 
is  a  connecting  link  between  two  generations. 
He  may  change  the  stream  of  life  flowing  into  the 
next  generation,  and  he  may  change  a  good  bit 
(the  stream  of  life  he  received  from  his  fathers,  but 
never  wholly. 

Neither  does  this  affect  the  pain  of  spirit 
through  the  contact  of  culture  with  men  and  con- 
ditions around  us.  The  nearer  God  one  gets 
and  the  closer  to  His  ideal  for  us  he  grows,  the 
■greater  is  the  pain  over  the  ravages  of  sin,  but  the 
steadier  too  is  the  faith  that  sees  through  to  the 
end  of  victory. 

There  is,  through  Jesus,  victory  in  pain  over 
pain.  The  hurt  remains,  but  the  sting  has  been 
•extracted.  With  Him  alongside,  close  up,  and  the 
clearer  vision  of  the  great  purpose,  and  through 
to  the  end,  the  pain  of  pain  lessens  and  softens, 
even  while  the  outer  pain  remains. 

Then  there  is  the  final  victory.  Jesus'  resur- 
rection is  called  a  first  fruits  by  Paul.  It  is  a 
wondrous  conception  of  a  winsome  truth.  First 
fruits  is  the  language  of  harvest.     The  first  fruits 


The  Problem  of  Pain  1 49 

is  the  beginning  of  the  harvest;  the  great  crop 
remains  to  be  gathered. 

There  has  been  a  harvest  of  pain;  there  is  to 
be  a  harvest  of  painlessness.  There  has  been  a 
harvest  of  sorrow;  there  will  be  one  of  joy. 
There  has  been  a  great  harvest  of  death,  of  sep- 
aration, of  breakings;  there  is  to  be  a  greater 
harvest  of  life,  of  reunion,  of  tying  up  all  the  old 
breaks  into  knots  that  no  fingers  will  ever  undo. 

The  harvest  of  pain  and  sorrow,  of  death  and 
breakings,  has  been  the  result  of  sin's  sowing. 
The  new  harvest  of  painless,  joyous,  reunited 
life  is  through  the  sowing  by  Jesus  of  His  own 
life  down  among  men.  Jesus  is  greater  than 
sin.  The  coming  harvest  will  be  so  great  as  to 
make  the  Others  forgotten.  The  work  that  Jesus 
finished  on  the  cross  and  the  resurrection  morning 
is  to  be  finished  in  all  the  earth.  The  first  fruits 
is  to  be  followed  by  a  great  full  fruits. 

The  Bible  reaches  a  thrilhng  climax  in  the  clos- 
ing chapter  of  its  closing  book.  One  can  believe 
anew  in  the  divine  guidance  of  the  men  who  put 
these  books  of  the  Bible  together  as  he  comes  to 
the  climax  of  surpassing  splendor  at  its  close. 

The  new  glory  is  revealed  as  a  new  city.  The 
city  has  been  the  superlative  of  human  life. 
There  bad  has  been  worse,  and  good  best.  The 
momentum  of  man's  activities  has  drawn  to  the 
city  centre  the  leadership  of  life.  On  the  bad 
side  the  city  has  become  a  condensed  epitome  of 
darkness  and  poverty,  of  pain  and  misery,  of 
sin  and  distress.     Here  in  John's  great  ^ision  it 


150  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

becomes  the  glorified  condensation  of  all  that 
God's  love  has  planned  for  man. 

The  presence  of  God  is  its  glorifying,  trans- 
forming, radiating  atmosphere.  ''The  Lamb  is 
the  light  thereof."  Death  has  been  cast  out. 
There  is  no  mourning,  nor  crying,  nor  pain.  All 
the  former  things  are  passed  away.  And  in  a  fine 
touch  it  is  said  that  God  Himself  "shall  wipe 
away  every  tear  from  their  eyes."  That  word 
"away"  might  better  read  "out";  "shall  wipe  out 
every  tear."  The  tear  forced  out  under  pain's 
pressure  shall  be  annihilated,  for  pain  itself  has 
been  wiped  completely  out. 

"And  there  shall  be  no  curse  any  more,  and  the 
throne  of  God  and  of  the  Lamb  shall  be  therein ; 
and  His  servants  shall  serve  Him;  and  they  shall 
see  His  face ;  and  His  name  shall  be  on  their 
foreheads.  And  there  shall  be  night  no  more; 
and  they  need  no  light  of  lamp,  neither  light  of 
sun ;  for  the  Lord  God  shall  give  them  light ;  and 
they  shall  reign  unto  the  ages  of  the  ages." 

The  old  order  has  completely  passed  away. 
The  victory  over  pain  is  final  and  full  through 
Jesus. 


THE  PROBLEM   OF  GUIDANCE 

A  Guide  Over  Life's  Trail. 

God  Plans  Every  Life. 

God  Tells  us  His  Plan  for  us. 

Accepting  God's  Plan. 

A  Disciplined  Judgment 

Unhurried  Waiting. 

Guided  in  Judgment. 

The  Boys  and  the  Tramps. 

Instructed  in  the  Night  Seasons. 

Finding  the  Life-plan. 

"My  Sheep  Hear  My  Voice." 


The  Problem  of  Guidance 


A  Guide  over  Life's  Trail. 

Nobody  thinks  of  climbing  the  dangerous 
passes  and  peaks  of  Switzerland  without  a  guide. 
The  experienced  travellers  are  very  careful  about 
getting  experienced  guides.  Even  then  a  man 
sometimes  loses  his  life.  These  guides  have  to 
learn  the  way  at  the  risk  of  their  own  lives,  and 
they  take  serious  risks  every  time  they  cHmb. 
And  this  iS  the  sphere  where  a  man  can  see  and 
feel  with  his  outer  material  senses. 

How  much  more  does  a  man  need  a  guide  for 
the  climb  on  into  the  future  days,  where  no  man 
has  yet  learned  how  to  see  or  feel  an  inch  ahead. 
With  all  our  great  advances  in  knowledge  and 
science,  we  don't  know  surely  a  clock's  tick 
ahead  what  is  coming.  The  coming  year,  and 
month,  and  day, — even  the  next  moment  is  utterly 
hidden  from  our  eyes.  We  are  in  Eg}^ptian  dark- 
ness that  may  be  felt,  and  that  is  felt,  about  to-mor- 
row. We  are  used  to  it  from  the  earliest  birth  of 
life,  and  move  on  with  a  certain  steadiness,  plan- 
ning, and  shrewdly  guessing  how  certain  matters 
will  go. 

That  very  steadiness  of  step  in  our  common 
life,  on  into  the  unlit  darkness  of  the  next  hour,. 
153 


154  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

tells  of  a  great  Guide  whose  hand  upon  life  all 
men  have  learned  unconsciously  to  trust.  But 
the  factor  of  fear  is  never  absent  from  human  life, 
though  it  lessens  steadily  as  one  comes  to  know 
his  Guide.  The  man  who  risks  going  alone  in 
a  dangerous  mountain  climb  in  daylight  is  reck- 
oned foolhardy.  Even  he  wouldn't  go  in  the 
dark  night.  How  much  worse  is  it  to  go  alone  on 
the  life-climb  without  even  a  single  ray  of  day- 
light to  show  the  way.  Yet  many  do  just  that. 
Foolhardy — would  you  say  ? 

There  is  a  tender  awe  in  knowing  that  there  is 
some  One  at  your  side  guiding  at  every  step,  re- 
straining here,  leading  on  there.  He  knows  the 
way  better  than  the  oldest  Swiss  guide  knows  the 
mountain  trail.  He  has  love's  concern  that  all 
shall  go  well  with  you.  There  is  great  peace  for 
us  in  that,  and  with  it  a  tender  awe  to  think  who 
He  is,  and  that  He  is  close  up  by  your  side.  When 
you  come  to  the  splitting  of  the  road  into  two, 
with  a  third  path  forking  off  from  the  others, 
there  is  peace  in  just  holding  steady  and  very 
quiet  while  you  put  out  your  hand  and  say, 
''  Jesus,  Master,  guide  here."  And  then  to  hear 
a  Voice  so  soft  that  only  in  great  quiet  is  it  heard, 
softer  than  faintest  breath  on  your  cheek,  or 
slightest  touch  on  your  arm,  telling  the  way  in 
fewest  words  or  syllables — ^that  makes  the  peace 
unspeakable. 

And  if  the  road  lead  you  into  a  thick,  dark  woods, 
and  strange  shadowy  forms  seem  to  threaten  from 
behind  the  trees,  you  go  quietly  on  singing  a  bit 


The  Problem  of  Guidance 


155 


of  a  song,  because  He  led  you  there,  and  is  lead- 
ing. That  path  may  lead  into  some  common- 
place Nazareth  village,  into  some  wilderness  with 
untamed  beasts,  or  into  some  thick  Gethsemane 
grove  of  gnarly  olives,  or  even  up  a  Calvary  hill 
outside  a  city  wall,  but  you  go  steadily  on  with 
the  path,  and  the  song,  and  a  joy  full  of  glory,  for 
the  Master  led  you  there,  and  has  not  gone  away. 

And  if  perhaps  the  chosen  road  lead  to  crowds 
and  great  service  and  praise  of  men,  you  will  be 
thinking  it  was  His  leading  that  brought  you  there, 
not  your  own  wisdom  or  talent.  He  has  some 
great  purpose  for  these  crowds,  and  may  be  some 
purpose  through  these  crowds  farther  on.  And 
you  will  be  very  careful  not  to  disappoint  or  mar 
His  plans.  ^  And,  too,  you  will  keep  very  quiet 
and  close  that  the  dust  the  crowd  is  raising  may 
not  bother  your  eyes  and  dim  the  vision  of  His 
face. 

And  if  sometimes  the  way  be  lonely  and  long, 
and  the  brambly  thorn  bushes  on  the  sides  scratch 
face  and  hands,  and  sharp  stones  cut  your  feet, 
you  can,  if  you  will  be  quiet  enough,  find  a  new 
softness  to  the  strong  arm  of  the  Guide  around 
you,  and  a  new  fragrance  in  His  presence  beside 
you ;  and  that  will  make  you  grateful  for  the  rough- 
ness of  the  road,  because  it  draws  out  more  the 
fineness  of  His  love,  and  of  Himself. 

God  Plans  every  Life. 

Guidance  is  entirely  a  matter  of  finding  God's 
plan,  and  then  following  it.     God  has  a  plan  for 


156  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

every  life.  He  will  lead  us  into  it,  and  then  lead 
us  in  it,  step  by  step.  He  made  man's  home  be- 
fore He  made  man.  In  the  simple  Genesis 
record  He  planned  the  man,  of  what  sort  he 
should  be  and  what  service  he  should  do,  before 
He  made  him.  He  planned  the  best,  for  He 
made  him  in  His  own  image.  He  gave  Himself,, 
His  breath,  to  insure  that  likeness,  and  later  gave 
Himself  again,  His  blood,  to  restore  it.  He 
planned  a  new  trinity  in  making  man.  Himself 
and  the  man  and  the  woman,  for  perfection  of 
friendship  requires  three;  and  man  was  made 
for  fulness  of  friendship  with  God.  Every  one 
needs  two  friends,  one  above  to  draw  him  up,, 
and  one  alongside  to  draw  him  out — so  God 
planned. 

God  has  a  plan  thought  out  for  the  universe,  and 
for  our  planet,  and  for  each  man  upon  it.  The 
great  emergency  that  sin  has  made  in  the  world 
called  for  special  planning.  It  controls  much 
of  His  planning  for  our  lives.  He  knows  that 
emergency  as  no  one  else.  He  feels  the  keenness 
and  stress  of  it  beyond  any  other.  He  knows 
each  man  of  us,  our  gifts  and  endowments,  what 
we  can  do,  and  do  best.  He  loves  each  of  us  de- 
votedly. The  ambition  of  love  is  in  His  plan- 
ning. He  has  great  wisdom.  His  plan  is  best 
for  all  the  w^orld,  and  for  each  man. 

The  life  of  the  great  Hebrew  pioneer  Abram 
clearly  was  thought  out,'  and  as  clearly  that  of  his 
lineal  descendant,  the  great  law-giver,^  and  that 
*  Genesis  12:  i  and  on.  ^  Exodus  2  and  3. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      157 

of  his  immediate  successor,  Joshua.^  It  was  the 
consciousness  that  he  was  filling  out  God's  plan 
for  himself  that  held  Jeremiah  so  steady  to  his 
difficult  and  thankless,  dangerous  task.^  Paul, 
the  man  to  whom  we  Gentile  foreigners  owe  so 
much,  had  no  doubt  of  this  in  his  own  Ufe;^ 
and  he  plainly  set  it  down  as  a  law  of  God's 
dealing  with  men/  The  greater  includes  the  less. 
God  has  no  favorites.  Every  man's  life  is  planned. 
Every  man  should  plan  to  live  a  planned  life, 
the  planned  life,  planned  by  Another.  Every 
man  may.  He  is  touching  the  very  tip-top  of 
human  achievement  who  comes  nearest  to  fitting 
into  the  plan  thought  out  for  him.  This  glorifies 
every  life,  no  matter  how  lowly,  or  in  how  hidden 
away  a  comer;  for  the  touch  of  God's  plan  is  upon 
it.  It  dignifies  one's  life;  it  has  been  thought 
out  by  a  God! 

"  There  is  a  divinity  that  shapes  our  ends. 
Rough  hew  them  how  we  may." 

And  that  divine  One  will  shape  everything  towards 
the  end  He  has  planned,  if  He  may  have  our  con- 
sent. 

This  is  the  working  basis  of  the  whole  problem 
of  guidance.  It  simplifies  it  much.  It  is  not 
coaxing  a  friendly  God  to  keep  us  along  a  path 
we  have  marked  out  for  ourselves.  It  is  finding 
and  fitting  into  the  plan  lovingly  thought  out  for 
us,  and  doing  the  ser\dce  assigned  to  us  in  the 

1  Numbers  27:18  and  on.  2  Jeremiah  1:4  and  on. 

^  Acts  13:  2  and  on.  *I    Corinthians  12: 11,  18. 


158  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

great  world-plan.  Guidance  is  a  matter  of  find- 
ing God's  plan  and  following  it  faithfully  step  by 
step.  A  man  should  aim  to  have  a  keen  under- 
standing of  what  God's  plan  for  him  is.^  The 
likeness  of  God  imprinted  upon  him  puts  him 
under  obligation  to  find  out  the  plan  of  God  in- 
tended for  him. 

The  first  great  question  for  every  one  is  whether 
he  is  going  to  go  God's  way,  and  to  plan  to  fit  into 
God's  plan.  The  real  stiff  work  in  the  problem 
of  guidance  is  here.  This  must  be  settled  first 
of  all,  and  then  kept  settled.  It  can  easily  be 
settled,  and  it  can  be  kept  settled.  Yet  almost 
every  man  of  us  is  bothered  with  either  one  or 
the  other  of  those  two  things.  But  if  a  man  will 
do  this  part  of  the  sum  up,  the  figuring  out  of  the 
rest  is  assured;  and  more,  it  isn't  hard.  Let  it 
once  be  fixed  that  a  man's  one  ambition  is  to  fit 
into  God's  plan  for  him,  and  he  has  a  North  Star 
ever  in  sight  to  guide  him  steadily  over  any  sea, 
however  shoreless  it  seem.  He  has  a  compass 
that  points  true  in  the  thickest  fog  and  fiercest 
storm,  and  regardless  of  magnetic  rocks. 

God  Tells  us  His  Plan  for  us. 

God  reveals  his  plan  to  a  man.  Of  course  He 
does.  He  naturally  would  if  He  expected  a  man 
to  follow  it.  He  has  to  tell  it  if  we  are  to  know  it. 
He  does  tell  it,  and  tells  it  in  the  plainest  way. 
This  is  the  second  great  factor  in  guidance.  He 
not  only  reveals  the  plan  to  follow,  and  the  path 

1  Ephesians  5: 15-17. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      159 

to  tread,  but  he  is  eager  to  do  it.  He  takes  every 
man  into  His  confidence  regarding  the  plan  for 
his  life.  But  His  great  trouble  is  to  get  our  atten- 
tion so  He  can  tell  us. 

Ever  since  man  lost  the  vision  of  God's  face 
in  Eden,  and  the  sound  of  His  voice,  God  has  had 
to  do  unusual  things  to  attract  man's  attention, 
and  get  him  to  understand  His  plan,  and  hold 
him  to  it.  Our  spirit-senses  are  dulled  by  sin. 
Something  startling  must  frequently  be  used. 
The  strange  sight  of  a  bush  all  aflame  yet  not 
burnt  up  takes  hold  of  Moses'  scholarly  tempera- 
ment, and  holds  him  quiet  enough  to  hear  the 
Voice  and  the  plan. 

A  fire  eating  up  the  meal  that  Gideon  had 
prepared-  for  his  pilgrim  guest  tells  that  startled 
man  of  God's  unsuspected  presence,  and  secures 
his  splendid  leadership  in  His  plan.  A  \ision  of 
overwhelming  glory  led  Isaiah  into  the  deeper 
devotion  that  changed  his  spirit  and  his  career. 
As  extreme  a  measure  as  laming  his  body  is  used 
to  waken  up  the  scheming  Jacob,  for  he  has  a  will 
strong  enough  to  be  stubborn,  but  not  yet  strong 
enough  to  yield.  A  vision  with  features  utterly 
repugnant  to  the  hungry  Peter  tells  him  of  God's 
plan  for  his  outside,  outcast  brothers.  For  Paul, 
light  so  bright  as  to  make  the  sun's  light  cast  a 
shadow,  and  so  blinding  as  to  shut  his  outer 
eyes  for  days,  that  so  the  inner  Ught  might 
be  lit,  and  the  plan  be  seen.  And  later,  a  needle- 
pointed  thorn  ever  prodding,  but  softened  with 
a  wondroMS  Presence,  to  hold  Paul  to  the  plan. 


i6o  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

If  something  has  come  to  you  that  seems  very 
strange  and  unexplainable,  better  hold  very  quiet 
and  still — God  is  probably  trying  to  get  your  ear. 
He  is  talking;  if  you  give  your  attention  you  will 
hear  something.  He  needs  some  help;  there  is 
something  to  be  done ;  he  wants  you  to  give  Him 
a  hand,  a  lift,  a  life-lift.  He  is  trying  to  attract 
your  attention.  If  you  give  it  and  fall  in  heartily 
with  his  plan,  you  will  understand  what  He  has 
been  doing,  and  when  the  thing  that  hurts  has  done 
its  work  it  will  likely  be  taken  away. 

He  reveals  the  general  plan  at  once,  but  the 
steps  in  it  only  one  at  a  time.  He  wants  to  keep 
us  in  touch  all  the  time.^  His  plan  needs  two  at 
each  stage,  Himself  and  you.  We  need  to  be 
trained  to  keep  His  pace.  We  are  apt  either  to 
dash  ahead  or  to  lag  behind.  Both  bother  the 
plans.  There  is  a  fascination  in  noting  how  such 
strong  men  as  Abraham^  and  Joshua^  were  told 
a  step  at  a  time  what  to  do.  As  one  step  was 
taken  the  next  became  clear,  and,  that  taken, 
cleared  the  next.  Steady  walking  takes  most 
strength.  Some  of  us  are  good  at  a  dashy  eagle- 
flight  up,  or  a  quick  spurt  down  the  road,  but  we 
have  not  learned  the  walk-step  yet.* 

Accepting  God's  Plan. 

How  may  we  know  God's  plan  for  us?  No 
question  has  been  asked  more  often,  nor  more 

^  Genesis  22:2;  Matthew  2:  13. 

2  Genesis  12:  i,  4  with  7;     17:9,  10  with  23,  and  18:  i. 

3  Note  first  ten  chapters  of  Joshua.         ^  Isaiah  40:31. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance       i6i 

earnestly  than  just  this — ''May  I  know  certainly 
what  God's  plan  for  me  is?"  And  the  deep 
glow  of  fire  in  the  eye  tells  eloquently  of  the  eager 
desire  of  the  heart.  Yes,  surely  we  may  know, 
and  may  know  surely.  He  that  is  willing  to  do 
may  know,  and  will  know.  The  life-plan  that 
has  been  thought  out  may  be  known,  and  there 
may  be,  too,  the  steady  going  along  in  the  plan 
step  by  step  without  breaks.  A  man  needn't 
even  stub  his  toe,  much  less  fall  down. 

The  first  essential  to  knowing  God's  plan  is 
meekness.  That  simply  means  accepting  Some- 
body's else  plan  for  the  life.  Meekness  is  not  weak- 
ness; it  is  strength  using  its  strength  in  de- 
liberately yielding  to  a  higher  will.  Moses  is 
called  the 'meekest  man  because  he  yielded  so 
fully  and  constantly  to  Somebody's  else  plan. 
He  might  have  been  the  Pharaoh  of  the  world's 
leading  nation,  but  he  chose  to  ally  himself  with 
a  race  of  ex-slaves  because  that  was  Somebody's 
else  plan  for  him.  And  the  spirit  of  that  choice 
pervaded  his  whole  life. 

Jesus  was  not  the  meekest  man.  He  was 
meekness  personified.  The  word  gets  a  new 
fineness  of  meaning  from  His  life.  He  might 
have  swayed  Athens  and  Corinth,  the  centres  of 
the  world's  philosophies,  with  His  philosophy  of 
life,  but  He  chose  rather  to  teach  the  poor,  for 
that  was  Another's  plan  for  Him.  He  might  have 
held  in  His  steady  grasp  the  reins  of  a  new  earthly 
government  stronger  than  that  of  Rome,  but  He 
chose  rather  to  win  the  government  of  men's 
II 


1 62  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

hearts,  for  that  was  Another's  plan  for  those  hu- 
man years. 

He  might  have  been  the  centre  of  the  liighest 
social  circles  of  beautiful,  cultured  Antioch-on-the- 
Orontes,  but  He  chose  to  grace  and  sweeten  with 
His  presence  the  homes  of  the  lowly,  for  so  His 
Father  wished.  His  voice  could  have  been  used 
to  give  out  music  that  would  have  classed  Him 
as  the  world's  greatest  musician,  but  he  chose 
to  sing  to  babes,  and  to  women  and  men  tired  out 
under  heavy  loads,  for  that  was  Another's  plan. 

Those  fingers  of  His  could  have  chiselled  marble 
and  touched  canvas  into  a  life  far  beyond  what 
marble  and  canvas  have  ever  known,  but  He  used 
them  in  ministering  to  sick  and  needy  and  tired- 
out  folks,  for  so  it  had  been  planned  for  Him. 
He  came  to  carry  out  the  plan  of  Another.  That 
was  the  great  meekness  of  His  great  strength. 

This  quahty  of  meekness  lies  at  the  very  root 
of  guidance.  It  makes  the  road  simple  and 
straight.  The  man  eager  to  do  what  God  wants 
done  will  know  certainly  what  to  do.^  This  is  a 
family  trait,  by  which  the  sons  of  the  King  may 
be  recognized.^  Those  in  the  inner  family  circle 
of  God  have  a  fine  passion  for  doing  what  He 
wants  done. 

The  second  great  essential  in  knowing  God's 
plan  is  obedience.  This  is  really  saying  the  first 
thing  over  again.  Obedience  is  meekness;  it  is 
meekness  in  action,  in  daily  use.  Obedience  is 
practising  meekness.  It  makes  meekness  effective. 

^  Psalm  25: 9.  ^  Romans  8:  14. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance       163 

Meekness  is  accepting  the  plan;  obedience  is 
working  it  out  bit  by  bit.  Meekness  is  the  atti- 
tude of  one's  spirit  towards  God ;  obedience  is  the 
doing  of  the  things  He  wants  done. 

A  Disciplined  Judgment. 

There  is  a  third  essential  of  immense  importance, 
and  that  is,  listening  to  God.  God  is  telling  us  the 
plan,  and  telling  us  the  next  step  to  take,  but  our 
ears  bother  us;  they  are  so  dull.  It  is  amazing 
how  many  deaf  children  there  are  in  God's 
family.  The  deafness  seems  to  grow  with  the 
years  too.  For  usually  the  child-ear — whether 
a  child  in  years,  or  in  religious  experience — is 
keen,  though  it  needs  training.  There  is  nothing 
so  necessary  as  keen,  trained  ears.  Yet  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  rarer.  An  endless  amount 
of  doubt  and  difficulty  in  guidance  can  be  traced 
back  to  this  critical  point. 

The  favorite  word  for  listening  in  the  Bible  is 
the  word  waiting.  It  is  a  great  word  full  of  simple 
yet  wondrous  meaning.  It  means  the  turning 
of  the  face  full  up  to  God  so.  as  to  know  hy  a  look 
what  He  would  suggest ;  hearing  through  the  eyes. 
It  is  exquisitely  put  in  the  Psalms.  God  assures 
us  that  He  is  ever  keeping  His  eye  upon  us  so 
that  by  our  looking  up  we  can  catch  His  eye  and 
so  know  what  to  do.* 

It  means  on  our  side  watching  God's  slightest 
movement  as  intensely  as  a  slave  in  those  old  times 
watched  for  the  first  and  least  suggestion  of  the 

*  Psalm  32:  8. 


1 64  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

master's  desire/  As  the  watch-guard  on  night 
duty  upon  the  city  wall  in  old  Judea  kept  his  eyes 
keenly  towards  the  east  to  see  the  first  gleam  of  the 
coming  day  that  would  reUeve  his  long,  lonely 
vigiP — so  intensely  and  keenly  we  are  to  look 
towards  God  to  get  the  first  inkUng  of  His  will. 
The  life  is  to  be  lived  with  its  face  always  turned 
to  God. 

But  this  can  be  put  in  a  very  homely,  matter-of- 
fact  way  that  may  help  yet  more.  There  are  three 
things  given  us  for  guidance,  the  Word  of  God, 
the  Spirit  of  God,  and  our  own  sense,  or  reason- 
ing powers,  our  judgment.  These  three  are 
meant  to  agree.  When  they  do  agree  in  one  the 
way  is  surely  clear.  When  they  do  not  agree,  the 
only  wise  thing  to  do  is  to  do  nothing,  to  wait  till 
they  do  agree.  Usually  the  judgment  is  amiss 
and  needs  straightening  up  to  the  other  two. 

The  Word  of  God  read  habitually  disciplines 
the  judgment.  There  comes  to  be  a  settled  con- 
viction as  to  God's  character  and  preferences  and 
ways  of  working.  There  comes,  too,  a  keener 
use  of  one's  thinking  powers.  The  Spirit  of  God 
within  makes  plain  the  meaning  of  the  Word, 
and  adapts  it  to  our  needs  in  a  very  wonderful 
way.  With  the  Book  of  God  in  his  hands  in 
good  plain  type,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  in  his  heart, 
and  the  common  sense  with  which  we  are  all  en- 
dowed, no  man  need  be  in  doubt  when  acting 
time  comes,  nor  make  any  mis-steps.  And  this 
is  said  with  keen  consciousness  of  many  a  slip. 

1  Psalm  123: 1-2.  2  Psalm  130:5,  6. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      165 

The  great  sheet-anchor  bit  in  the  old  Book  is 
in  the  Twenty-fifth  Psalm:  " The  meek  will  He 
guide  in  judgment";  that  is,  in  his  mental  pro- 
cesses. The  American  Revision  uses  the  word 
"justice"  in  place  of  "judgment";  but  the  refer- 
ence clearly  is  to  being  just  in  one's  decisions. 
Judgment  is  used  in  the  sense  of  a  decision.  Here 
is  the  great  simple  promise  regarding  the  process 
of  guidance. 

As  I  sift  over  the  facts  and  circumstances  that 
bear  upon  the  decision,  I  must  make  the  Spirit  of 
God's  will  guide  my  thinking.  He  wil).  help  me 
to  see  colorlessly,  to  weigh  accurately,  and  to 
reach  a  right  conclusion.  This  is  putting  guid- 
ance on  the  highest  plane.  God  uses  the  think- 
ing powers  He  has  given  us.  They  need  the  dis- 
cipline of  His  Word,  of  His  Spirit's  indwelling, 
and  of  use.  Questions  of  right  and  wrong  are 
decided  by  the  statements  of  the  Word.  Questions 
of  what  best  to  do  are  decided  by  the  judgment, 
disciplined  by  the  Word,  and  guided  by  the  Spirit. 

Through  habitual  reading  of  the  Word  of  God, 
in  reverent  dependence  upon  the  Holy  Spirit,  for 
the  purpose  of  learning  God's  will,  there  comes 
gradually  to  be  a  disciplined  judgment,  a  simple 
common  sense  in  weighing  and  deciding  w^hat 
best  to  do.  There  seems  to  be  nothing  much 
rarer  nor  scarcer  than  this.  The  personal  color- 
ing and  preferences  and  advantages  get  in  so 
strong  that  they  twist  the  eyesight  badly. 

The  passion  for  God's  plan  is  the  great  counter- 
actant   for   the   undue    personal   element.     The 


1 66  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

steady,  burning  passion  to  do  His  will  makes  one 
forget  all  else,  and  yet  makes  him  fit  eagerly  in 
where  service  is  called  for,  but  with  no  sense  of 
having  done  some  great  thing  even  when  he  has. 
He  is  absorbed  in  some  One  else  through  whose 
power  the  thing  was  accomplished,  and  whose 
glory  is  the  one  dominant  thought. 

Unhurried  Waiting. 

All  of  this  is  in  that  Twenty-fifth  Psalm,  the 
great  guidance  Psalm.  It  is  written  in  the  midst 
of  difficulties  and  sore  temptations.  It  should 
be  studied  much  by  the  man  seeking  to  under- 
stand guidance.  It  begins  with  of  t- repeated  prayer 
for  guidance  that  reveals  an  earnest  heart-desire 
to  go  God's  way.  The  praying  stirs  the  memory 
of  this  man  writing  to  the  fact  that  he  hasn't  al- 
ways chosen  God's  way,  but  preferred  his  own. 
It  is  the  meek  man  who  reverently  ''fears  the 
Lord"  who  is  guided  and  taught  about  the  way 
to  go.  The  path  pointed  out  is  not  only  the  right 
one,  but  proves  to  be  a  loving  one  for  him  who  is 
obedient,  "unto  such  as  keep  his  covenant  and 
his  testimonies."  This  meek,  obedient  man 
waits  on  God ;  he  is  in  the  spirit  of  constant  listen- 
ing. And  he  is  guided  in  thinking  out  his  de- 
cisions. He  is  instructed  in  the  way  to  choose. 
God  does  the  instructing;  the  man  does  the 
choosing;  he  is  helped  in  his  mental  processes. 
The  result  specified  is  two-fold,  great  peace,  his 
soul  dwelling  at  ease ;  and  power  or  good  success, 
his  seed  inheriting  the  land. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      167 

Then  comes  the  great  statement  that  the  friend- 
ship of  the  Lord,  the  exchange  of  confidences, 
is  given  to  such  men,  ''  and  He  will  show  them  His 
covenant";  that  is,  what  He  has  planned  to  do, 
and  then  the  plans  actually  carried  out.  And 
the  man  writing  emphasizes  the  true  spirit  that 
brings  all  this — '^mine  eyes  are  ever  toward  the 
Lord.^'  Such  a  man  will  know  surely  how  to  go, 
and  will  have  strength  to  go  when  the  way  is 
hard,  and,  more,  will  find  the  road  to  lead  him  into 
far  more  of  blessing  than  he  had  ever  thought  of. 

The  man  who  so  waits  upon  God  never  decides 
anything  hurriedly.  His  friends  are  likely  to  think 
him  slow  perhaps.  He  is  unhurried.  He  may 
decide  quickly  sometimes,  but  that  is  because 
he  has  been  brewing  in  secret  over  all  the  con- 
siderations. He  is  never  hurried  nor  flurried. 
It  is  often  hard  to  wait.  Our  natural  impatience 
and  our  tired-out  nerves  prod  us  on  w^hen  we 
should  wait.  It  is  always  safe  to  wait.  With 
the  greatest  need  unmet,  the  keenest  crises  im- 
pending, it  is  safest  to  wait  till  we're  clear;  that 
is,  clear  as  to  the  next  thing  to  do ;  and  the  next 
thing  to  do  is  always  clear  in  time  to  do  it. 

And  yet  more:  this  man  who  waits  on  God  is 
so  intent  on  getting  God's  plan  done  that  he  is 
not  concerned  about  anything  else.  The  plan 
he  is  in  the  process  of  shaping  up  may  jail.  But 
that  will  not  concern  him,  for  clearly  it  was  not 
God's  plan  if  under  faithful  attention  it  fails. 
Personal  pride  to  have  a  plan  carried  through 
doesn't  bother  him  a  bit ;  he  cares  only  to  carry 


1 68  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

through  Somebody's  else  plan.  Yet  when  the 
plan  is  clearly  revealed,  or  clearly  proves  bit  by 
bit  to  be  the  plan  of  the  Master,  he  holds  to  it 
with  a  peculiar  tenacity.  And,  as  a  matter  of 
fact,  the  plan  carefully  decided  upon  in  such  a 
way  doesn't  fail.  God  is  eager  to  reveal  His 
plan,  and  He  does  to  the  man  eager  to  know. 
The  meek  man  is  guided  surely  in  his  planning. 
There  is  a  fine  word  from  Luke's  pen  describ- 
ing the  decision  to  go  to  Europe  the  morning 
after  Paul's  vision  of  the  Macedonia  man.  Luke 
had  joined  Paul.  Paul  tells  him  his  vision. 
"Straightway,"  he  writes,  "we  sought  to  go  forth 
into  Macedonia,  concluding  that  God  had  called 
us  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them."  ^  The  old 
version  says,  "assuredly  gathering"  in  place  of 
"concluding."  The  word  underneath  suggests 
a  putting  together  of  this  and  that,  and  so  draw- 
ing an  inference.  It  describes  the  common  pro- 
cess of  thinking  a  thing  out.  In  this  case  the 
evidence  was  very  clear,  but  the  word  used  for  the 
thinking  and  talking  it  over  is  very  helpful.  They 
were  being  guided  in  their  mental  processes. 
God's  law  of  progress  is  to  take  the  next  logical 
step.  But  one  should  not  take  a  step  when  in 
doubt  about  its  being  the  right  one. 

Guided  in  Judgment. 

A  drop  of  wine  gives  the  flavor  of  the  cask. 
A  simple  straw  will  show  the  direction  of  the 
vdnd.     Very  simple   occurrences  sometimes  re- 

*  Acts  i6: 10,  American  Revision. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance       169 

veal  how  God  guides.  Some  very  simple  in- 
stances of  this  sort  came  to  my  attention  recently. 
A  woman  who  has  a  flock  of  poultry  to  attend 
noticed  one  morning  that  a  brood  of  very  young 
Plymouth  Rocks  were  not  well.  They  seemed 
droopy  and  distressed.  She  had  been  caring  for 
them  thoughtfully,  and  could  not  make  out  the 
cause  of  their  distress.  The  thermometer  in  the 
brooder  where  the  little  ones  made  their  home 
indicated  a  proper  temperature.  Her  womanly 
heart  was  moved  with  pity  for  them.  As  she 
stood  watching,  perplexed,  she  thought  of  how 
God  must  look  down  and  pity  too,  and  leaning 
against  the  corner  of  the  hen-house  quietly 
prayed  to  be  shown  the  difficulty.  At  once  it 
occurred  to  her  to  examine  the  heating  lamp  in 
the  brooder.  It  proved  to  need  a  larger  burner 
to  make  enough  heat;  the  thermometer  w^as  not 
registering  accurately.  The  change  was  quickly 
made,  the  temperature  rose,  and  the  Httle  chicks 
were  soon  happy  and  contented. 

A  business  man  of  Belfast,  well  known  in  that 
city,  told  this  bit  of  his  experience  to  a  group  of 
men  in  the  Fulton  Street  Prayer  Meeting  room 
one  noon.  He  is  a  builder,  and  recognized  as  an 
expert  in  that  business.  He  had  been  called  to 
examine  a  large  building  which  was  being  seri- 
ously shaken  and  jarred  by  the  motion  of  the  ma- 
cliinery.  Efforts  had  been  made  to  find  why  the 
machinery  shook  the  building  so,  but  they  failed 
to  reveal  the  defect  in  construction.  He  was 
called  in  as  an  expert.     He  examined  the  build- 


1 70  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

ing  most  thoroughly,  but  could  find  no  faulty 
place.  It  was  one  of  the  best  constructed  build- 
ings he  had  ever  examined,  he  said.  He  was 
much  puzzled  to  know  where  the  defect  could 
be,  and  felt  quite  nonplussed. 

As  he  stood  looking  in  his  perplexity,  he  sent 
up  a  softly  breathed  prayer  to  be  shown  where 
the  trouble  was.  At  once  his  thought  went  to  a 
certain  large  post  or  beam  on  which  part  of  the 
machinery  rested.  He  went  on  to  notice  that  it 
was  not  properly  adjusted.  There  was  plainly 
the  cause  of  the  violent  jarring  of  the  building 
by  the  machinery.  Yet  he  had  gone  painstak- 
ingly over  the  whole  structure  without  finding  it, 
as  had  other  experts.  The  defect  was  pointed 
out  and  remedied,  and  all  jarring  ceased.  Could 
there  be  simpler  and  yet  more  direct  illustra- 
tions of  the  old  bit,  "The  meek  will  He  guide  in 
his  mental  processes?" 

A  small  group  of  young  men  entrusted  with  the 
supervision  of  one  of  the  great  religious  activi- 
ties among  young  men  were  spending  a  day  in 
conference  and  prayer.  Men  were  to  be  chosen 
for  certain  very  important  positions.  A  mistake 
in  choosing  would  have  very  serious  results. 
They  talked  over  the  men  in  mind  and  their 
suitability  to  the  tasks  involved,  and  prayed  to- 
gether. A  decision  was  reached  about  certain 
men,  but  reached  tentatively,  not  decisively,  not 
finally.  The  suggestion  was  made  that  they 
separate,  and  pray  and  think  separately,  and 
then  come  together  again.     The  matter  was  so 


The  Problem  of  Guidance        171 

serious  that  there  must  be  no  mis-step  or  mis- 
take. They  did  so,  and  while  in  prayer  alone 
the  conviction  came  that  it  would  not  be 
best  to  send  a  certain  man  tentatively  decided 
upon  for  a  certain  post.  More  prayer  and 
conference  followed,  and  the  arrangements  were 
readjusted. 

So  were  these  men  guided  in  their  mental  pro- 
cesses. So  were  they  guided  to  plan  out  unhur- 
riedly with  utmost  thoroughness  their  serious 
task.  These  men  were  keen  Bible  students,  with 
discipline  of  judgment  much  above  the  average, 
and  with  a  rare  openness  of  mind  to  the  sugges- 
tions of  God's  Spirit,  as  a  result  of  long  habit. 
Here  was  the  habit  into  which  they  had  been  led 
through  long  experience,  of  being  guided  by  the 
Spirit  through  their  trained  thinking  powers. 
The  withdrawal  from  each  other's  presence  made 
them  more  susceptible  to  the  presence  of  the  One 
whose  will  they  were  bent  on  doing. 

The  Boys  and  the  Tramps. 

The  Spirit  of  God  adapts  the  words  of  the  Bible 
to  our  needs  with  a  simplicity  that  is  winsome. 
He  constantly  breathes  through  and  out  of  these 
pages,  these  old  narrations,  and  verses,  and  sen- 
tences. He  takes  these  words  and  speaks  them 
with  an  inaudible  but  very  distinct  voice  into  one's 
rhind.  He  gives  them  a  precious  meaning  that 
fits  wondrously  and  warmly  into  our  needs.  So 
it  comes  to  pass  that  a  passage  will  have  a  warm 
personal  meaning  fitting  into  some  experience  of 


172  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

one's  life  quite  in  addition  to  its  first  historical 
meaning. 

It  is  a  bit  of  the  versatility  of  Scripture  that  its 
words  have  both  a  historical  and  a  philosophical 
meaning.  As  originally  spoken  they  tell  perhaps 
of  some  story  in  a  certain  man's  life,  and  then  the 
words  so  spoken  and  written  are  found  to  have  a 
deeply  simple  philosophy  that  applies  directly 
to  life  to-day.  This  'strikingly  brings  out  the 
fact  that  the  Scriptures  answer  a  double  purpose. 
There  is  the  first  purpose  for  which  they  were 
written  centuries  ago,  and  then  a  present  purpose 
in  fitting  into  and  helping  our  changing,  daily 
needs,  and  adapted  to  each  man's  reading. 
Surely  this  old  Book  is  inspired;  it  is  inbreathed 
with  a  living  Spirit.  There  is  a  living  presence 
in  it  fitting  its  words  with  a  warm,  hving  touch 
to  every  man  and  every  circumstance. 

I  had  an  illustration  of  this  one  summer  in  a 
New  England  village.  I  had  gone  to  the  prayer 
meeting  in  the  old  white-painted  Congregational 
church.  The  subject  was  Bible  study.  In  the 
social  mingling  afterwards  a  quiet  httle  woman 
said  to  me,  "I  would  like  to  tell  you  of  a  verse 
that  helped  me  greatly  one  time."  And  I  listened. 
I  seemed  to  know  at  once  that  I  was  to  get  some- 
thing. I  was  standing  close  up  to  a  sacred  hu- 
man life,  and  was  to  be  allowed  to  look  in.  I 
listened  reverently  and  eagerly. 

Her  story  was  a  simple  one.  She  lived  on  the 
edge  of  town,  with  the  neighbors  not  very  close. 
Her  husband's  business  took  him  away  much  of 


The  Problem  of  Guidance     173 

the  time.  This  bit  of  experience  came  the  pre- 
vious winter.  She  enjoyed  the  weekly  prayer 
meeting  and  always  planned  to  attend.  Yet  she 
knew,  as  she  returned  home  from  prayer  meeting, 
that  there  was  sure  to  be  at  least  one  tramp,  and 
maybe  more,  taking  a  night's  lodging  in  the  barn 
back  of  the  house.  She  was  alone  in  the  house 
so  far  as  having  a  man  who  might  protect  her  was 
concerned.  Naturally  enough  that  made  her 
nervous  and  worried  her.  She  prayed,  and 
tried  to  be  brave,  but  could  not  seem  to  quite 
shake  off  the  timid  worrying  about  it. 

At  that  same  time  the  superintendent  of  the 
Sunday  School  had  asked  her  to  teach  a  class  of 
boys.  She  had  declined.  She  felt  that  she  had 
no  gift  for  teaching,  and  that  she  could  not  do  it. 
But  he  gently  persisted;  he  was  sure  she  could; 
he  needed  a  teacher  for  those  boys ;  it  seemed  so 
hard  to  find  one ;  would  she  not  think  it  over  and 
pray  about  it  before  finally  deciding?  And  she 
had  rather  reluctantly  agreed  to  this.  These 
were  the  two  things  uppermost  in  her  mind  at  this 
time,  the  danger  threatening  from  the  tramps, 
and  the  teaching  of  the  boys. 

Her  habit  was  to  spend  a  little  while  each  morn- 
ing with  the  Bible,  reading  and  praying.  This 
morning  of  which  she  told  me  her  regular  course 
of  reading  brought  her  to  the  fifty-first  chapter  of 
Isaiah.  She  was  reading  along  in  a  meditative, 
unhurried  way,  praying  softly  as  she  read,  and 
with  those  two  things,  the  tramps  and  the  boys, 
within  easy  reach  in  her  underneath  thoughts. 


174  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

She  came  to  the  sixteenth  verse.  "And,"  she 
said  to  me,  "the  first  line  of  that  verse  seemed  to 
stand  out  as  though  in  bigger  type:  '/  have  put 
my  words  in  thy  mouth.''  "  Clearly  that  meant 
the  boys.  She  grew  quiet  and  still.  The  Master 
was  speaking  to  her.  She  sat  thinking  about  the 
class,  with  the  feeling  of  hesitancy  not  wholly 
gone,  and  yet  the  decision  clearly  made.  She 
would  teach  the  boys  the  best  she  could,  and  He 
would  be  giving  her  the  words. 

After  a  little  prayer,  still  thinking  about  the 
boys,  her  eyes  turned  half  mechanically  to  the 
page  to  continue  the  reading.  "Then,"  she  said 
to  me,  with  a  moistened  glow  in  her  eyes,  "the 
next  hne  stood  out  big  just  as  the  first  had  done : 
^And  have  covered  thee  in  the  shadow  of  mine 
hand.'  "  That  meant  the  tramps.  It  seemed 
to  her  that  the  wondrous  Spirit  had  taken  these 
words,  centuries  old,  spoken  originally  to  the  dis- 
tressed nation  of  Israel,  and  had  with  a  wholly 
new,  tender  meaning  spoken  them  into  her  heart 
in  her  need.  And  I  felt  sure,  and  feel  sure,  that 
she  was  right.  And  the  order  in  which  the  mes- 
sage came  seemed  peculiarly  helpful.  First  came 
the  bit  about  the  service  needed  from  her,  and  as 
quickly  as  she  responded  to  that  call  came  the 
word  of  comfort  for  her  personal  needs. 

Instructed  in  the  Night  Seasons. 

The  habit  into  which  I  have  grown  in  making 
decisions,  even  about  smaller  matters,  is  to  gather 
up  all  the  information  on  the  matter,  thresh  it  out 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      175 

and  sift  it  over  into  the  clearest  shape  possible, 
pray  over  it,  be  content  to  have  it  go  either  way 
regardless  of  personal  preferences,  and  then 
sleep  over  it.  In  the  morning  hour  alone  I  am 
apt  to  know  pretty  clearly  what  to  do.  If  not 
quite  clear  I  wait  a  while  longer,  including  some- 
times more  than  one  night's  sleep.  The  sleep 
induces  a  quietness  in  which  the  thing  assumes 
clear  shape. 

Then,  too,  there  is  a  statement  of  the  old  Book 
that  seems  to  me  to  fit  in  here,  though  I  know  well 
that  some  may  think  the  interpretation  of  it  rath- 
er fanciful.  "So  he  giveth  unto  his  beloved 
sleep  "Ms  the  reading  of  both  old  and  revised 
versions.  But  the  margin  gives  this  alternate 
reading:  '''So  he  giveth  unto  his  beloved  iti 
sleep."  I  do  not  say  that  this  is  the  first  mean- 
ing of  that  tender  old  bit  of  the  Book.  I  do  not 
know.  But  I  recall  how  He  gives  bodily  strength 
in  sleep,  and  has  turned  the  tide  of  sickness  and 
weakness  in  sleep,  and  I  recall,  too,  that  in  the 
Old  Testament  times  He  used  to  reveal  His  plan 
to  men  in  their  sleep. 

The  man  who  proved  to  be  God's  messenger 
to  Job  told  that  troubled  man  this : 

"God  speaketh  once, 
Yea  twice,  though  man  regardeth  it  not, 
In  a  dream,  in  a  vision  of  the  night, 
When  deep  sleep  falleth  upon  men, 
In  slumberings  upon  the  bed; 
Then  he  openeth  the  ears  of  men. 
And  sealeth  their  instruction."  ^ 
*  Psalm  127:  2.  2  Job  33:  14-18. 


1 76  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

And  the  sixteenth  Psalm  has  this : 

"I  will  bless  Jehovah,  who  hath  given  me  counsel; 
Yea,  my  heart  instructeth  me  in  the  night  seasons."^ 

I  am  not  speaking  of  dreams,  but  only  of  this — 
that  through  the  perfectly  natural  channel  of  the 
thoughts,  He  gives  in  sleep  that  v^hich  guides  us 
when  awake.  There  is  here  no  element  of  the 
supernatural  involved.  Through  nature's  duly 
appointed  channels,  the  mental  processes,  God 
in  a  time  of  greatest  stillness  clears  the  thinking 
and  suggests  what  to  do. 

Finding  the  Life-plan. 

The  great  question  of  finding  out  the  life-plan 
has  puzzled  a  great  many,  and  should  have  a 
special  word  here.  The  fact  that  there  is  a  life- 
plan  for  every  one,  and  that  God  is  naturally 
eager  to  tell  it  so  that  it  may  be  carried  out,  clears 
the  ground  very  much.  The  man  who  wants  to 
know  can  know,  without  any  doubt.  Hundreds 
of  young  people  are  facing  the  question  of  giving 
their  Hves  to  the  great,  needy,  foreign  mission 
fields.  There,  without  any  question,  is  the  great- 
est need,  and  there  too  is  the  greatest  privilege 
of  service.  And  in  addition  to  that  are  the  great 
home  mission  fields,  and  the  church  ministry.  In 
our  day  there  is  a  great  call  for  many  sorts  of 
workers  in  addition  to  the  ordained  ministry. 

The  general  plan  for  all  followers  of  Jesus  is 
that  they  shall  go.    The  general  marching  orders 

1  Psalm  16: 7. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      1 77 

to  all  who  hear  His  voice  are  a  plain,  imperative 
"Go."  The  early  disciples  so  understood  and 
went.  In  foreign  mission  lands  there  is  a  spirit 
akin  to  that  of  these  early  disciples.  In  Korea 
to-day  they  are  going  everywhere  in  the  same 
way.  Whenever  there  is  a  spirit  of  awakening 
in  the  Church  there  is  always  a  spirit  of  awak- 
ening to  this  ringing  call  to  go.  Whenever  the 
Spirit  of  God  gets  sway  in  a  man's  life,  among 
the  other  marked  characteristics,  is  a  new,  yearn- 
ing earnestness  to  take  the  message  of  Jesus  to 
the  far-off  peoples  who  have  had  no  word  of  it. 

But  in  addition  to  the  general  marching  order 
is  the  particular  personal  order.  The  Master 
has  made  plain  His  plan  for  His  Church;  it  is 
to  go.  He  piakes  plain  His  plan  for  each  mem- 
ber of  His  Church  where  he  is  to  go.  The  whole 
scheme  is  mapped  out  by  the  Lord  of  the  harvest, 
and  each  one's  place  in  the  scheme,  too.  And 
while  all  may  go  in  a  very  real  sense  to  those 
neediest  fields  by  prayer  and  money  and  earnest 
sentiment-making,  some  are  not  to  go  there  per- 
sonally, but  to  stay  here.  The  great  thing  is  to  be 
where  the  Master  has  planned. 

How  shall  a  man  know  that  plan  for  himself? 
He  should  aim  to  gather  all  available  informa- 
tion, weigh  and  balance  it  carefully,  and  wait 
quietly  upon  God,  both  in  prayer  and  in  the  spirit 
of  his  life,  with  a  full,  eager  ^villingness  to  go  far 
or  stay  near,  to  be  wholly  in  religious  serxice  or 
a  volunteer  with  other  duties,  as  the  plan  may  be. 
He  that  is  willing  to  go  shall  know.     He  should 


178  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

inform  himself  about  the  great  world-fields. 
That  is  very  easily  done  to-day.  The  Student 
Volunteer  Movement  and  the  Young  People's 
Movement  have  brought  the  information  close 
home  in  very  easy  shape. 

He  ought  to  think  about  his  own  abilities  and 
special  gifts.  These  gifts  and  talents  are  gifts 
from  God,  and  so  a  trust.  One  should  think 
soberly  of  what  he  can  do,  and  cannot  do,  that 
he  may  know  his  responsibility,  and  meet  it. 
Some  sensible  friend  or  two,  sympathetic  with 
you  and  with  the  needs,  can  be  of  real  service  here, 
to  help  you  get  an  impartial  view,  while  the 
decision  must  rest  with  yourself.  The  circum- 
stances of  one's  life  must  be  considered,  and  the 
home  responsibilities.  I  know  a  young  man  who 
burned  with  the  desire  to  go  to  a  foreign  field. 
But  it  was  very  plain  to  him  that  he  should  not 
leave  home;  he  was  needed  there.  There  was  a 
deep  twinge  of  regret  as  the  situation  cleared  to 
him;  but  no  element  of  doubt.  Clearly  it  was 
so  planned  for  him.  And  he  has  since  been  used 
graciously  in  every  mission  land  while  yet  re- 
maining home.  That  is  the  story  of  very  many 
who  have  discerned  clearly  the  plan,  and  gladly 
fitted  into  it. 

All  this  one  should  gather  up :  facts  about  the 
world-need;  about  himself,  with  friends  to  help 
get  the  undue  personal  coloring  out;  about  his 
circumstances;  and  the  strong  inward  impulse. 
These  should  be  sifted  and  weighed  unhurriedly, 
and  balanced,  and  time  spent  in  quiet  prayer 


The  Problem  of  Guidance      179 

alone  with  God  over  His  word.  So  a  man  will 
come  to  know  with  the  certainty  that  steadies 
all  his  coming  service.  And  he  will  always 
know  in  time.  But  he  must  not  be  hurried; 
he  may  decide  quickly  but  he  must  not  decide 
hurriedly. 

''My  Sheep  Hear  My  Voice:' 


There  are  some  snags  in  these  waters  to  be 
looked  out  for,  and  avoided.  Some  terrible  mis- 
takes have  been  made  by  those  who  said  they  had 
heard  the  voice  of  God,  and  were  doing  as  He  had 
bid.  I  am  not  speaking  now  of  those  who  have  done 
insane  things  under  such  a  delusion.  But  godly, 
well-equipped  men,  earnest  and  whole  hearted 
in  their  demotion,  have  made  pitiable  mistakes 
that  have  sadly  blighted  both  life  and  service. 

Sometimes  a  failure  to  obey  in  some  matter, 
a  break  with  God,  a  getting  out  of  touch,  a  bit  of 
sin  not  fixed  up  at  once  but  persisted  in,  has  led 
to  the  unwise  step,  and  a  wrecked  career  of  ser- 
vice. We  are  made  of  such  inflammable,  catchy 
stuff  that  we  must  fight  shy  of  the  fires  of  passion 
and  of  pride,  and  Kve  very  close  to  God,  \\ith  a 
constant  cleansing  from  defilement,  if  we  are  to  go 
straight. 

And  sometimes  where  no  such  thing  comes  in 
there  is  a  plain  slip  in  judgment,  with  sad  results. 
The  records  of  ser\dcc  are  full  of  those  who  have 
been  led  away  from  the  middle  road  to  side  paths 
not  meant  to  be  trodden.  God  is  no  longer  able 
to  use  them.     The  switcfiing  from  the  road  has 


i8o  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

meant  a  switching  from  service.  Paul  was  con- 
stantly on  the  watch  lest  after  having  been  used 
of  God  he  should  have  to  be  laid  aside  as  no  longer 
serviceable.^ 

Mark  keenly  that  the  tempter  is  a  great  imi- 
tator. He  is  a  mighty  actor,  skilful  in  imper- 
sonating God.  He  follows  God  as  closely  as  he 
can.  There  is  a  fascination  in  running  through 
the  Bible,  especially  the  book  of  Revelation,  and 
noting  the  imitations  of  the  evil  one.  There  is  a 
voice  of  God,  and  there  is  a  voice  that  is  not  God's 
but  sometimes  mistaken  for  His.  There  is  need 
of  constant  watchful  care.  Yet  one  may  be  sure. 
The  Master  said,  "My  sheep  hear  my  voice" ;^ 
that  is,  they  recognize  it.  The  actual  sheep  in 
that  land  are  very  keen  and  quick  to  recognize 
their  own  master's  voice.  That  sheep  simile  is 
immensely  helpful  here.  The  sheep  live  with  the 
shepherd.  It  is  by  long  daily  intimacy  with  him 
that  they  know  him  so  well. 

So  with  us.  By  the  intimacy  of  daily  contact 
with  God,  by  the  intimacy  of  knowledge  with  His 
Book,  one  may  come  to  recognize  unerringly  His 
voice,  and  by  the  cultivation  of  a  quiet  spirit  one 
grows  keener  to  know  that  voice,  for  it  is  a  voice  of 
great,  still  quietness.  There  is  a  Voice  of  God  as 
well  as  a  Book  of  God.  God  speaks  by  the  voice 
of  the  Spirit  to  a  man's  inner  spirit.  He  is  apt  to 
speak  in  the  words  of  the  Book.  Sometimes  He 
speaks  otherwise.  And  when  He  does  it  is  al- 
ways in  accord  with  the  Book,  of  course;    the 

^  I.  Corinthians  9:  27.  ^  John  10:  27. 


The  Problem  of  Guidance     1 8 1 

voice  of  God  agrees  with  itseK.  He  never  speaks 
contrary  to  the  Book  nor  to  the  spirit  of  it. 

Having  asked  for  guidance  and  reached  your 
decision,  never  look  back  and  question  your 
guidance.  If  indeed  it  be  clear  that  you  have  not 
waited  quietly  enough,  and  have  not  heard  dis- 
tinctly, and  made  a  decision  unwisely,  of  course 
it  must  be  changed.  But  when  you  have  waited 
and  listened  and  not  hurried,  and  come  to  a  de- 
cision, then  refuse  to  question  it.  Push  quietly 
on.  There  is  a  teasing,  nagging  indecision  that 
whips  back  and  forth  over  a  matter  already  dis- 
posed of.  It  often  comes  from  worn-out  nerves. 
Good  sound  sleep,  and  plenty  of  fresh  air,  and 
plain  food  thoroughly  chewed,  would  dispel  many 
of  the  distracting,  confusing  thoughts  that  come 
racing  in  like  staghounds  to  bother  us.  They 
would  help  us  to  hold  steady  mentally,  and  to 
know  the  thing  to  do.  Sometimes  this  indecision 
lies  deeperdown  than  a  tired  body,  and  is  a  mental 
trait  to  be  chastened  and  disciplined. 

A  will  bended  to  God's,  a  spirit  of  obedience  to 
His  wishes,  the  Book  kept  open,  the  cultivation 
of  the  Spirit's  friendship,  time  alone  with  the  Book 
daily,  a  habit  of  wide  reading  of  its  pages,  a  quiet, 
unhurried  spirit — these  simple,  great  things  lead 
to  the  disciplined  judgment  and  sensitive  spirit 
that  know  what  to  do  and  make  no  slips. 

"Thou  sweet,  beloved  will  of  God, 
My  anchor-ground,  my  fortress  hill, 
My  spirit's  silent  fair  abode: 
In  thee  I  hide  me  and  am  still. 


1 8  2  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Upon  God's  will  I  lay  me  down 
As  child  upon  its  mother's  breast; 

No  silken  couch,  nor  softest  bed 
Could  ever  give  me  such  sweet  rest. 

Thy  wonderful  grand  will,  my  God, 
With  triumph  now  I  make  it  mine; 

And  love  shall  cry  a  joyous  'yes' 
To  every  dear  command  of  thine. 

Thy  beautiful  sweet  will,  my  God, 
Holds  fast  in  its  sublime  embrace 

My  captive  will,  a  gladsome  bird 
Prisoned  in  such  a  realm  of  grace. 

Within  this  place  of  certain  good 
Love  evermore  expands  her  wings; 

Or,  nestling  in  thy  perfect  choice. 
Abides  content  with  what  it  brings; 

A  sweetest  burden,  lightest  yoke, 
It  lifts,  it  bears  my  happy  soul; 

It  giveth  wings  to  this  poor  heart; 
My  freedom  is  thy  grand  control."  * 

^  Madame  Guyon. 


THE  PROBLEM  OF  THE 
CHURCH 


Some  Wrong  Ideas. 

The  Tie  of  Blood  and  Spirit. 

A  Picture  of  the  True  Family. 

Fellowship  and  Service. 

Great   Church-names   Sign- posts 
OF  Man's  Growth. 

A  New  Church  Unity. 

The  True  Church  Spirit. 


\ 


The  Problem  of  the  Church 


Some  Wrong  Ideas. 

"  Are  you  a  member  of  Church  ?  "  I  was  asked 
by  an  earnest  Christian  woman  recently.  It  was 
at  a  conference  of  Christian  people  for  speaking 
about  Jesus  and  the  great  truths  of  Christian  life 
and  service.  She  is  a  gifted  woman,  earnest  in 
her  spirit  of  devotion  and  service.  "Yes,"  I  re- 
pHed,  with  a  bit  of  wonder  at  the  question,  "I 
certainly  am;  I  am  a  member  of  the  Church  in 
which  I  was  bom  and  reared." 

*'But,"  she  went  on,  "how  can  you  be?  Are 
there  not  many  things  there  of  which  you  do  not 
approve,  and  things  taught  that  you  do  not 
believe?"  I  reminded  her  that  church  member- 
ship was  not  a  matter  of  approving  everything 
that  was  done,  nor  yet  a  matter  of  beUeving  cer- 
tain things.  It  is  the  gathering  together  of  those 
who  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  and  gather  in  His 
name  for  mutual  helpfulness,  and  for  a  great 
world-service. 

It  is  because  I  seem  to  have  met  many  whose 
thought  of  the  Church  has  not  been  clear,  and 
who  have  wavered  in  their  devotion  to  it,  that  I 
want  to  talk  a  bit  here  about  the  Church,  and  our 
personal  relation  to  it.  This  is  one  of  the  per- 
185 


1 86  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

sonal  problems  that  comes  up  in  the  life  of  very 
many  who  would  climb  the  highest  levels,  and 
always  ring  true. 

There  have  been  a  good  many  common  mis- 
takes current  in  thinking  about  the  Church.  It 
is  supposed  by  some  that  church  membership 
necessitates  a  beUef  in  all  the  items  of  her  creeds ; 
by  others  that  it  is  a  sort  of  profession  of  pecuhar 
goodness  or  sanctity;,  and  by  others  that  it  is 
largely  for  one's  own  helpfulness  and  enjoyment. 
The  personality  of  the  minister  has  entered  in  to  a 
very  large  degree,  and  very  naturally.  That  must 
always  have  influence.  The  Church  has  some- 
times, in  some  quarters,  been  thought  of  practi- 
cally as  an  exclusive  club  to  which  non-members 
are  not  welcome  without  a  personal  introduction 
by  a  member  in  acceptable  standing.  It  has  been 
thought  of,  too,  as  the  doorway  into  desirable 
social  circles,  and  some  very  earnest,  Bible-loving 
people  have  thought  of  it  wholly  as  a  place  to  be 
fed  and  fired  up. 

And  let  it  be  frankly  said  that  there  has  been 
and  is  much  in  various  quarters  to  give  coloring 
to  these  various  suppositions.  Yet  the  simple 
thought  of  the  purpose  of  the  Church  is  quite 
different  from  any  of  these  ideas.  It  will  surely 
help,  to  get  some  clear  thought  of  the  mission  of 
the  Church,  and  of  one's  true  relation  to  it. 

The  Tie  of  Blood  and  Spirit. 

The  Church  is  a  family,  God's  family.  It  is 
common  blood  that  makes  a  family.     The  child 


The  Problem  of  the  Church     187 

comes  into  the  family  through  the  blood  of  the 
parents.  In  quite  another  sense  it  can  be  said 
it  is  one  blood  that  makes  the  church  family. 
Through  the  blood  of  the  Head  of  this  family 
there  comes  the  life  to  each  one,  and  that  life  it  is 
that  makes  him  a  member  of  the  family. 

The  Church  is  not  an  organization  formed  by 
men  for  an  agreed  purpose.  It  is  a  society  founded 
by  the  Holy  Spirit  for  a  great  purpose.  Its  mem- 
bers belong  there  only  because  the  Spirit  of  the 
Founder  is  in  them.  Each  one  into  whom  the 
Spirit  has  come  is  a  member  of  the  society  be- 
cause of  that  fact.  The  Holy  Spirit  is  the  bond 
of  union  that  holds  the  members  together.  As 
they  are  drawn  closer  to  Him  they  are  drawn 
closer  to  each  other. 

Membership  in  a  family  is  by  birth.  The  child 
comes  into  the  family  by  birth ;  he  comes  into  the 
church  family  by  birth  too,  the  higher  spirit-birth. 
The  child  has  his  father's  spirit  and  in  some  degree 
his  likeness.  The  member  of  the  church  family 
has  his  Father's  spirit,  and  in  some  degree  His 
Hkeness.  Wherever  there  is  a  heart  that  has 
opened  to  the  gracious  Spirit  of  God  there  is  a 
member  of  His  family.  For  He  quickly  enters 
every  such  heart  and  His  presence  is  the  certifi- 
cate of  membership  in  His  family,  the  Church. 

The  m^embers  of  this  family  meet  with  the 
Head  of  the  family,  of  course.  Getting  together 
is  a  family  trait.  The  Spirit  in  each  draws  them 
together.  They  meet  out  of  love  for  their  Father. 
They  love  to  tell  Him  of  their  love  for  Him,  and 


1 8  8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

to  express  their  feelings  of  regard.  The  common 
word  for  this  is  worship.  They  meet  to  read 
their  Father's  letters,  and  to  talk  about  Him  and 
His  plans  and  wishes.  Such  meetings  naturally 
bring  a  glow  of  warmth  to  the  heart,  clearer 
thought  of  His  wishes  to  the  mind,  and  a  keener 
edge  to  the  desire  to  please  Him.  They  meet,  too, 
to  plan  how  best  to  win  the  other  children  of  the 
Father  who  have  strayed  away  from  the  home 
circle,  and  lost  many  of  the  old  family  traits.  The 
Father's  letters  constantly  talk  about  going  out 
for  the  others,  and  going  to  those  farthest  away 
and  telling  them  of  His  yearning  love  for  them. 

For  this  church  family  is  a  sort  of  reunited 
'family.  The  old  original  family  was  badly 
broken  up  and  scattered.  The  Father  sent  down 
His  Son  to  get  them  back  and  together  again.  It 
was  a  great,  difficult  task.  He  lost  His  life  on  the 
errand,  but  He  succeeded  in  the  task.  Some 
came,  and  more,  and  many  more.  But  the 
Father's  heart  is  very  hungry  for  the  rest.  He  is 
ever  calling  them  back.  His  Spirit  in  a  man  is 
ever  urging  that  man  to  get  the  rest  back,  too,  into 
the  inner  circle  again. 

As  the  members  of  the  reunited  family  are 
scattered  in  all  parts  of  the  world,  these  meet- 
ings are  held  in  different  places.  For  convenience 
and  mutual  helpfulness,  different  branches  of  the 
family  have  been  organized.  Men  have  been 
drawn  together  by  national  ties,  language  ties, 
neighborhood  ties,  and  by  ties  of  friendship. 
Personal    temperament    has    been    a    great    tie. 


The  Problem  of  the  Church     189 

Some  prefer  to  give  full  expression  to  their  feel- 
ings; others  find  a  freeness  of  expression  in  spirit 
through  quiet  meetings. 

By  agreement  and  by  growth  the  great  branches 
have  been  built  up  with  certain  statements  of 
belief,  and  certain  forms  of  management  and  of 
worship.  All  this  has  played  an  important  part 
and  still  docs.  But  these  varying  outer  forms 
are  incidental.  They  are  a  convenience  for  the 
mutual  working  together  of  men  in  a  common 
plan  of  work.  The  vital  bond  of  all  is  the  Holy 
Spirit's  presence.  He  is  the  great  dominant 
factor,  and  the  one  element  of  unity  in  the  whole, 
and  of  continuity  through  all  time. 

A  Picture  oj^the  True  Family. 

Through  the  long  years  this  church  family  has 
grown  very  large,  and  become  very  widely  scat- 
tered over  the  earth.  Its  members  are  different 
in  many  ways.  They  speak  many  languages. 
Some  are  rich  and  some  poor,  some  educated 
and  some  ignorant,  with  all  degrees  between. 
And  sometimes  differences  of  opinion  have  oc- 
curred. That  is  not  surprising,  considering  the 
great  differences  of  other  sorts.  And  some- 
times, it  must  be  confessed,  bad  disputes  have 
broken  out.  The  very  success  attending  the 
effort  to  bring  in  all  others  has  led  indirectly  to 
things  of  this  sort.  For  these  men  are  not  all 
perfect  in  love,  nor  in  mental  discipline,  nor  in 
self-control. 

And  so  there  are  many  branches  of  the  church 


190  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

family,  with  their  gatherings  conducted  in  many 
different  ways.  There  are  some  members  of  the 
great  church  family,  members  through  the  birth- 
mark of  the  Spirit's  presence  in  their  hearts,  who 
do  not  attend  any  of  these  gatherings.  That  is 
always  unfortunate,  for  they  cannot  help  so  well 
in  carrying  out  the  Father's  plan  for  the  world, 
and  they  miss  the  fellowship  and  help,  and  are 
missed  too.  And  then  there  are  quite  a  good 
many  who  do  not  have  that  birth-mark  who  have 
come  into  the  membership  of  these  branches. 
But  wherever  there  is  a  man  in  whom  the  Spirit 
is  he  will  be  drawn  to  meet  the  others  with  that 
same  Spirit.  The  Spirit  of  God  in  a  man  draws 
him  into  contact  with  the  other  members  of  the 
family. 

Now  a  family  is  peculiar  in  this:  here  are 
gathered  into  one,  persons  of  very  marked  differ- 
ences. There  are  extreme  differences  of  age,  of 
maturity,  of  knowledge,  of  wisdom,  of  health  and 
strength,  and  even  of  temperament  in  children 
of  the  same  parents.  The  true  family  is  both  a 
school  and  a  hospital;  a  place  of  growth,  of  the 
disciplining  of  the  powers,  and  of  sweetest  friend- 
ships ;  with  the  zest  and  stimulus  of  constant  con- 
tact, and  all  pervaded  with  the  atmosphere  of 
unselfish  love. 

And  this  is  the  true  conception  of  the  Church, 
especially  of  the  particular  group  that  is  bound 
together  in  one  place  of  gathering,  by  ties  of 
agreement,  as  well  as  by  the  fundamental  tie  of 
the  Holy  Spirit's  presence  in  each.     A  man  does 


The  Problem  of  the  Church     191 

not  enter  here  because  he  understands  the  doc- 
trines and  creed  of  the  Church,  but  that  he  may- 
understand.  He  does  not  come  in  because  he  is 
good,  but  to  become  good  and  better;  not  be- 
cause he  is  in  sound  health  spiritually,  but  to  be 
helped  into  spiritual  vigor. 

The  one  essential  thing  is  that  he  has  admitted 
Jesus  into  his  life  as  Saviour  and  Master.  He 
does  not  attend  the  meetings  simply  to  get,  but 
to  give  too.  His  presence  in  an  earnest,  devout 
spirit  is  a  great  gift  to  the  gathering.  He  should 
not  go  to  get  his  torch  lighted,  but  to  take  a  lit 
torch  and  let  it  touch  other  lit  torches,  that  so 
there  may  be  better  light  and  warmth.  He  ought 
to  carry  a  live  coal  in-  so  that  others  may  be 
warmed,  though  he  is  not  conscious  of  that. 

The  preaching  may  not  always  be  to  his  liking, 
nor  the  music ;  and  some  people  may  not  be  as 
agreeable  as  they  might  be;  but  these  things 
should  be  thought  of  as  incidentals  to  be  prayed 
over  or,  may  be,  forgotten.  They  are  important. 
We  cannot  help  being  affected  by  them.  But  we 
should  be  careful  not  to  let  our  possible  dislike  or 
dissatisfaction  affect  our  conduct  or  speech.  A 
man  should  aim  to  keep  his  boat  in  the  current, 
and  not  let  it  be  swept  to  one  side  by  little  eddies, 
and  maybe  get  stuck  in  the  mud. 

The  earnest  desire  to  meet  with  the  other  mem- 
bers of  the  great  church  family,  even  though  per- 
sonally unknown,  to  worship  the  Father,  and  lis- 
ten for  a  message  either  outer  or  inner,  and  help 
through  gift  towards  the  great  world-ser\ice  of  the 


192  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Church,  will  always  find  a  blessing  coming  into 
the  heart,  and  a  bit  of  upHft  into  the  Hfe.  A 
man  may  always  find  in  the  church  service  what 
he  needs. 

I  have  been  in  all  sorts  of  Churches  and  church 
services,  in  many  parts  of  the  world,  and  have 
found  that  it  is  always  possible  to  get  a  fresh 
touch  with  God.  Even  amid  possible  distrac- 
tions of  a  strange  language,  or  something  uncon- 
genial, there  can  come  the  deep,  quiet  glow  into 
the  heart  that  tells  of  the  Spirit's  touch.  God 
meets  with  the  man  who  goes  to  the  place  of 
worship  to  be  met.  There  is  a  blessing  waiting 
for  each  of  us  in  the  gathering  together  in  the 
church  service,  and  we  may  get  it  if  we  will. 

Fellowship  and  Service. 

Man  was  made  for  fellowship  and  service.  He 
was  made  male  and  female  for  mutual  help  in  the 
maturing  of  his  life,  and  so  greater  efficiency  in 
service.  Here  in  the  original  plan  for  man  lies 
the  plan  of  the  Church.  It  is  a  divine  institution 
for  the  mutual  maturing  of  the  life  of  its  members, 
and  for  a  great  service — bearing  witness  to  Jesus 
Christ  before  all  men.  Its  birthday  was  that 
marvellous  day  in  Jerusalem  when  the  crucified 
and  enthroned  Jesus  sent  down  the  Holy  Spirit 
upon  His  waiting  disciples.  Its  beginnings  were 
wholly  Jewish,  at  the  Jewish  capital,  with  Jewish 
members,  and  in  a  Jewish  atmosphere. 

Its  mission  was  a  striking  resemblance  to  that 
of  the  old  Hebrew  nation.     That  nation's  great 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    193 

mission  was  to  preserve  the  revelation  it  had  re- 
ceived of  the  true  God,  and  to  give  it  to  all  the 
world.  The  Hebrews  were  God's  preachers  to 
the  world  of  Himself.  The  Church's  mission  is 
to  tell  all  the  world  of  Jesus  Christ,  His  life  and 
death  and  new  life  beyond  death.  The  Church 
is  Jesus  Christ's  preacher  to  all  nations. 

The  principle  of  organization  of  the  two  is 
radically  different.  In  the  nation  there  was  a 
birthright  membership,  in  the  Church  a  member- 
ship by  personal  choice;  there  others  could  come 
in  by  choosing  to,  and  fulfilling  the  requirements; 
here  all  come  in  by  choice.  In  the  nation  the 
magnet  was  Jehovah,  and  His  worship.  In  the 
Church  the  magnet  is  Jesus  Christ,  and  His  sacrifice 
of  love.  The  Church  is  the  lineal  descendant 
of  the  Hebrew  nation.  The  nation  failed  at  the 
greatest  crisis  of  its  history,  the  coming  of  its 
King — failed  through  rejecting  Him.  The  high- 
est revelation  entrusted  to  it  was  refused.  The 
Church  was  brought  to  its  birth  that  that  re- 
jected King,  accepted  as  Saviour,  might  be  taken 
to  all  men. 

There  are  a  good  many  family  traits  of  the 
nation  in  its  descendant.  That  nation  was  not 
alway  true  to  its  mission.  Its  leaders  were  fre- 
quently weak  and  false.  It  had  to  be  severely 
chastened.  Its  Hght  shone  very  dimly  and  un- 
steadily at  times.  Yet  up  to  the  time  of  the  great 
crisis  its  mission  had  been  largely  fulfilled; 
everywhere  in  the  civihzed  world  was  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  true  God,  and  a  people  worshipping 
13 


1 94  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Him,  in  the  midst  of  idolatry.  Always  in  its 
darkest  days  and  saddest  plight  the  true  light 
was  kept  shining  clear  and  bright  by  a  faithful 
company.  There  was  the  nation  within  the  na- 
tion; the  inner  group  true  to  the  national  mission 
while  the  nation  itself  was  losing  sight  of  its  high 
ideal. 

The  Church  has  not  always  been  true  to  its 
mission.  Yet  always  there  have  been  those  who 
have  kept  the  fires  alive,  though  sometimes  the 
live  coals  seemed  very  few.  But  always  there 
has  been  a  vitality  in  the  Church,  a  pecuHar 
quahty  of  real  Hfe  that  has  thrown  off  the  bad, 
broken  through  the  false-work,  risen  up  out  of 
the  dead  elements,  and  swung  it  true  to  its  great 
mission.  They  were  all  sons  of  the  Church  who 
led  in  the  great  protesting  movement  which  was 
as  a  second  birth  to  it,  and  to  the  whole  world's 
Hfe. 

The  counter  Reformation  within  the  mother 
Church  was  another  evidence  of  its  great  vitality. 
The  more  recent  movements  among  young  men, 
and  young  women,  and  students,  and  for  a  re- 
newed missionary  campaigning  by  students  and 
young  people  and  laymen,  have  all  grown  up 
within  the  circle  of  its  membership;  they  have 
drawn  their  strength  from  its  heart;  they  are 
simply  new  evidences  of  its  vast  fertihty  and 
resource,  equal  to  any  emergency. 

It  is  intensely  interesting  to  note  that  all  the 
creative  factors  that  enter  into  our  present  com- 
plex, intense  civilization  found  their  birth  within 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    195 

the  Church.  The  mental  awakening  of  the 
world's  Hfe  so  marked  and  marvellous  in  every 
sphere  of  life  in  our  day  has  dated  practically 
from  the  great  Reformation  movement.  There 
has  been  no  such  mental  activity  in  the  nations 
outside  the  sphere  of  the  Church's  influence. 
,It  has  been  most  apparent  where  the  Church's 
influence  has  been  greatest.  The  whole  modern 
system  of  education  found  a  birthplace  in  its  vital- 
ity, and  is  distinctively  its  child.  Here  in  America 
pecuHarly,  in  the  beginning,  the  Church  built  the 
colleges. 

The  spirit  of  robust,  aggressive  vigor  so  domi- 
nant to-day  in  all  the  world  was  breathed  into  life 
by  the  life  of  the  Church.  Church  history  is  the 
backbone  of  all  history.  Other  lines  break  and 
recede.  The  Church  supplies  the  one  continuous 
warp  into  which  is  woven  all  the  rest.  The  whole 
network  of  benevolent  institutions  to  help  the 
distressed,  the  hospitals  and  the  asylums  of  all 
sorts  for  caring  for  the  physically  and  mentally 
needy,  grew  up  out  of  its  warm  heart. 

Great  Church-names  Sign-posts  oj  Man's  Growth. 
The  fact  that  there  are  great  divisions  of  the 
Church  has  been  the  subject  of  much  criticism. 
It  is  not  uncommon  to  hear  the  Church  spoken  of 
as  being  ''all  spht  up."  But  these  great  di\i- 
sions  have,  in  the  main,  come  about  in  a  very 
natural  way.  They  have  been  a  natural  develop- 
ment historically  of  man's  progress  in  liberty, 
and  in  the  development  of  his  mental  powers. 


196  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

They  are  a  great  expression  of  his  strength  of 
thought,  as  well  as  of  his  individual  temperament, 
brought  into  conflict  with  the  autocratic  principle 
of  government  in  both  Church  and  State  from 
which  men  have  so  largely  broken  away. 

The  first  great  division  was  by  a  geographi- 
cal line  into  east  and  west,  Greek  and  Roman. 
Underneath  that  Une  was  a  radical  difference  of 
temperament  between  the  peoples  of  the  West 
centering  at  Rome,  and  those  of  the  East  center- 
ing about  Constantinople.  They  had  been  bound 
into  one  empire  through  the  power  of  the  sword. 
Now  they  are  free  to  give  expression  to  their 
individuality.  It  has  been  commonly  said  that 
that  division  came  about  through  the  dispute 
over  two  little  Latin  words  in  the  creed.  But 
that  only  revealed  the  different  modes  of  thought 
of  peoples  diverse  in  temperament,  and  now  free 
to  give  expression  to  their  thoughts. 

The  next  division,  the  great  Protestant  move- 
ment, was  an  evidence  of  the  new  life,  both  men- 
tal and  spiritual,  of  the  peoples  of  Europe.  The 
whole  body  of  Protestant  churches  to-day  tells 
out  the  vigor  and  vitality  both  of  man's  life  and 
of  the  Church.  It  spells  out  large  the  greatest 
movement  of  man  towards  a  new  intellectual  life. 
The  race  was  catching  fire  afresh.  It  was  having 
a  new  birth. 

The  varying  names  within  the  Protestant 
Church  grew  up  naturally  in  different  nations. 
In  Germany  the  personality  of  the  great  leader 
in  their  midst  gave  the  name  Lutheran.     Under 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    197 

the  leadership  of  that  very  different  personality, 
Calvin,  the  churches  in  the  Rhine  countries  from 
Holland  to  Switzerland  used  the  name  Reformed. 
In  Scotland,  always  marked  peculiarly  for  its 
independence  and  individuality,  the  name  Pres- 
byterian grew  up,  indicating  a  form  of  govern- 
ment radically  different  from  that  of  the  mother 
Church  from  which  they  had  broken  away.  In 
England  the  Reformation  movement  took  on 
national  proportions,  the  King  leading  in  the 
break,  and  so  a  national  name  was  used,  the 
Church  of  England. 

The  Methodist  Church  was  a  later  movement. 
It  is  a  child  of  the  Church  of  England,  born  in  its 
heart.  It  grew  up  out  of  the  great  awakening 
among  the  common  people  of  England  under  the 
leadership  of  John  Wesley.  Its  name  is  a  con- 
stant reminder  of  the  power  of  the  Church  to 
reach  out  to  the  masses,  and,  too,  of  the  marvel- 
lous power  inherent  in  man  to  develop  new  life. 
The  stream  of  life  always  cuts  new  channels. 

Others  have  grown  up  through  adherence  to 
some  truth  or  principle  that  was  not  being  recog- 
nized and  emphasized  as  some  men  felt  that  it 
should  be.  So  the  great  Baptist  Church  came  into 
being  and  was  peculiarly  strengthened  by  the  vari- 
ous persecutions  endured.  Many  of  the  smaller 
church  bodies  are  evidence  that  the  unity  of  the 
Church  is  greater  than  the  differences;  for  they 
are  made  of  remnants  who  have  refused  to  come 
into  a  union  being  effected  by  the  larger  number. 
Their  existence  reveals  the  fact  that  the  unity  of 


198  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

the  Church  has  been  dominant,  though  not  all- 
inclusive. 

The  last  hundred  years  and  more  have  wit- 
nessed an  unparalleled  spreading  out  of  the  race 
over  the  vi^hole  earth,  subduing,  developing,  and 
organizing,  even  as  the  command  was  given  in 
Eden.  The  pouring  of  the  hordes  of  northern 
barbarians  into  southern  Europe  has  been  spoken 
of  as  one  of  the  greatest  movements  of  the  race. 
But  it  is  clear  overshadowed,  both  in  the  numbers 
and  in  the  vast  changes  involved,  by  the  present- 
day  emigration  movements.  And  as  the  people 
have  gone  they  have  carried  with  them  the  church 
forms  and  names  to  which  they  were  accus- 
tomed in  the  home  land.  So  it  comes  to  pass 
that  on  American  soil  can  be  found  about  every 
form  of  church  worship,  and  management,  and 
name.  These  differences  viewed  thus  histori- 
cally do  not  reveal  the  weakness  of  the  Church 
but  its  strength.  They  mark  a  certain  stage 
in  its  progress.  They  tell  the  story  of 
man's  vigorous  life,  and  of  his  devotion  to  the 
Church. 

The  New  Church  Unity. 

And  now  there  is  a  new  movement  in  church 
life  developing  rapidly;  a  new  stage  is  being  en- 
tered upon.  The  immense  strides  which  man 
has  recently  made  and  is  making  in  obeying  the 
divine  command  to  subdue  the  earth  and  develop 
it,  are  rapidly  working  out  a  new  family  spirit 
among  all  the  men  of  all  the  earth.     The  unity 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    199 

of  the  race  is  revealing  itself  afresh.  And  this 
is  finding  expression  in  the  life  of  the  Church. 

There  has  been  growing  up  in  the  last  half- 
century  a  remarkable  spirit  of  unity.  And  now 
there  is  a  marked  and  remarkable  stretching  of 
eager  hands  across  the  dividing  Hnes  towards  such 
a  unity  as  Christ  prayed  for  so  fervently  as  He 
was  going  away.  It  can  be  thoughtfully  said 
that  there  is  to-day  a  practical  unity  in  the  Church 
deeper  and  keener,  warmer  and  more  sympathetic, 
than  when  it  bore  only  one  name. 

And  this  is  said  with  full  alertness  to  the  differ- 
ences. But  the  differences  are  always  less  than 
the  likenesses;  always  less  than  the  one  domi- 
nant spirit  beneath  varying  names  and  forms 
and  customs.  And  in  our  day  the  di\'iding  lines 
are  looking  towards  a  point  of  meeting.  These 
are  not  straight  lines,  else  they  would  never  meet. 
They  are  angled  lines,  slanting  lines,  of  peoples 
coming  up  from  different  parts  of  the  earth,  and 
they  are  drawing  towards  a  meeting-point. 

We  Americans  are  quite  in  the  habit  of  think- 
ing of  ourselves  as  the  great  world-leaders,  in 
aggressiveness  and  enterprise  at  least.  But  our 
spirit-brothers  in  Japan  and  Korea  have  been 
ahead  of  us  in  their  attempt  to  wipe  off  the  slate 
the  dividing  church  lines  they  got  from  us.  And 
our  blood-brothers  in  Britain  are  clear  ahead 
here.  In  Scotland,  a  land  and  people  as  much 
marked  for  independence  of  thought  and  action 
as  ever  the  old  Greeks  were,  the  coming  to- 
gether of  churches  \^ithin  recent  years  has  been 


200  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

most  remarkable.  Our  Canadian  neighbors  have 
joined  their  Methodist  bodies  into  one,  and 
are  now  at  the  still  greater  task  of  uniting 
bodies  as  different  in  both  doctrine  and  manage- 
ment as  Methodist  and  Presbyterian  and  Congre- 
gational. 

In  our  own  country  the  United  Presbyterian 
Church  in  its  name  tells  of  a  coming  together. 
And  movements  are  in  various  stages  of  progress 
for  union  on  a  much  wider  scale.  Blood-brothers 
of  our  North  and  South  who  differed  intensely 
and  sacrificially  have  come  together  materially 
and  commercially,  fraternally  and  socially,  and 
have  been  reaching  hands  across  the  Hne  in  church 
life  to  get  together  again  there.  Never  since 
apostolic  days  has  there  been  so  much  evidence 
of  the  oneness  of  the  Church. 

And  yet  beneath  all  the  movements  towards 
organic  union  is  a  spirit  of  unity  far  greater  than 
can  ever  find  expression  through  mere  oneness 
of  organization.  There  has  grown  up  a  practical 
unity  in  service  on  the  mission  field  to  a  large  ex- 
tent, and  ever  increasing.  And  at  home  the 
practical  union  of  missionary  efforts  by  students, 
by  church  boards,  and  now  in  this  great  new 
laymen's  movement,  is  most  inspiring.  The 
Church  is  one  Church  in  essential  spirit,  and  is 
in  increasing  measure  becoming  one  Church  in 
practical  service. 

Serious  mistakes  have  been  made  and  very 
serious  differences  have  arisen.  These  but  tell 
the  intensity  of  feeling  regarding  matters  they 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    201 

love  of  strong  men  who  are  not  perfect  either  in 
love,  or  in  knowledge,  or  in  self  control. 

One  group  of  men  has  made  a  statement  of 
what  they  believed.  Their  followers  have  re- 
quired that  all  after-comers  into  their  circle  shall 
assent  to  that  statement.  Another  group  in  a 
later  generation,  under  wholly  different  conditions, 
with  new  light,  and  a  new  way  of  expressing 
its  thoughts,  has  not  liked  that  statement  but 
preferred  to  make  its  own.  And  so  there  has 
been  friction. 

Sometimes  earnest  men  dwelling  in  the  valleys 
have  not  been  able  to  look  over  the  hills  for  the 
comprehensive  view  which  sees  things  in  true 
relation  to  each  other.  But  these  very  differ- 
ences, with'  the  factional  heat  involved,  have 
but  spelled  out  the  vigorous  vitality  of  men  in 
robust  life.  The  crowd  has  looked  too  much  at 
the  differences.  But  then,  crowds  usually  do 
that.  As  a  rule  the  crowd  doesn't  think.  Men 
differ  strongly  only  about  the  things  they  love. 
The  mountain  peak  of  strong  life  and  deep  de- 
votion and  essential  unity  of  spirit  looms  high 
over  all  differences.  We  should  keep  our  eyes 
more  upon  its  noble  form. 

The  True  Church  Spirit. 

In  a  very  large  social  gathering  in  London 
some  years  ago,  two  gentlemen  were  speaking 
together  of  church  matters.  One  of  them  criti- 
cised the  church  differences,  and  consequently, 
as  he  thought,  the  weakness  of  the  Church.     His 


202  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

friend  asserted  that  these  differences  were  largely 
on  the  surface  and  incidental;  that  underneath, 
at  heart,  there  was  a  great  unity  among  church 
people  on  the  great  essentials  of  the  faith.  The 
critic  politely  questioned  the  accuracy  of  his 
friend's  remark. 

At  once  the  churchman  called  attention  to  the 
character  of  the  large  company  gathered.  It 
was  representative  of  many  different  churches 
and  of  many  walks  of  life.  He  said:  "At  my 
request  these  people  will  all  bow  and  reverently 
repeat  the  Lord's  Prayer  as  a  confession  of  their 
common  faith."  And,  securing  the  attention  of 
all  gathered,  he  explained  the  little  pleasant  dis- 
pute that  had  arisen  with  his  friend,  and  made  the 
request. 

Instantly  a  soft  hush  fell  over  the  lively  com- 
pany, and  with  bowed  heads,  and  in  a  deep,  low 
tone,  which  suggested  a  great  wealth  of  sup- 
pressed feeling,  they  repeated  reverently  the 
Lord's  Prayer.  On  no  other  one  subject  could 
there  have  been  found  such  oneness  of  thought 
and  such  a  depth  of  reverence.  The  subject  of 
loyalty  to  their  sovereign  would  have  revealed  as 
great  oneness,  but  not  the  underneath  depth  of 
reverent  feeling  called  out  by  loyalty  to  the  higher 
Sovereign. 

The  great  mission  of  the  Church  to  remember 
the  sacrificial  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  to  tell 
all  the  world  earnestly  and  practically  and  simply 
of  Him,  is  being  fulfilled  to-day  on  a  larger 
scale   than   ever   before,    and   in   as   devoted  a 


The  Problem  of  the  Church    203 

spirit  as  marked  the  early  band  of  Jerusalem 
disciples. 

Every  true  follower  of  Jesus  Christ  should  be 
in  the  fellowship  of  the  Church.  He  belongs 
there  by  birth,  his  new  spirit-birth.  The  choice 
of  the  particular  branch  where  his  allegiance 
shall  be  given  will  be  affected  by  family  connection 
and  tradition,  or  friendships,  or  convenience  of 
location,  or  the  receiving  of  some  special  spiritual 
blessing,  or  other  such  consideration.  Thought- 
ful prayer  will  lead  any  one  in  doubt  to  very 
definite  guidance  in  his  decision. 

Where  he  is  led  to  go  he  should  go  heartily. 
That  place  becomes  holy  ground  to  him.  The 
shoes  of  his  common  round  of  duties,  and  of  cares, 
will  be  put'  off  as  he  enters  its  doors.  Here  he 
will  meet  the  Father,  and  worship  Him,  and 
receive  blessing  and  help  from  Him  direct. 
Here  he  will,  with  his  brothers,  remember  the 
dying  love  of  Jesus  in  the  simple  memorial  meal  of 
bread  and  wine.  Here  will  be  the  fellowship  of 
kindred  spirits  through  which  he  will  help,  and  be 
helped. 

Through  fellowship  here,  too,  he  shall  come  to 
understand  better  the  love  of  Christ;  for  no  one 
ever  fully  takes  in  that  great  love;  it  takes  all  of 
us  together  to  take  hold  of  that,  and  reaHze  its 
depth  and  strength  and  tenderness.  And  here 
he  can  best  join  with  his  brothers  in  the  great 
world-service  intrusted  to  the  Church  of  telling 
all  the  race  about  Jesus. 


THE    PROBLEM    OF    QUES- 
TIONED   THINGS 


Glimpses  of  Real  Life. 

Questions  that  are  Not  Questions. 

The  Sabbath  Question. 

Giving  Comfort  to  the  Enemy. 

Paul's  Advice. 

Not  to  Judge  but  to  Save. 

The  Law  of  Love. 


The    Problem    of  Questioned 
Things 


Glimpses  oj  Real  Life. 

A  friend  took  me  to  luncheon  one  day.  He  is 
a  leading  member  of  his  church,  and  prominent 
in  various  forms  of  Christian  activity.  We  ate 
at  a  very  finely  appointed  club  house.  As  we 
were  looking  over  the  menu  card  and  deciding 
upon  the  items  of  luncheon,  my  friend  said,  in 
the  same  tone  as  when  asking  about  meats,  "Will 
you  have  some  beer?"  I  said  quietly,  ''No,  I 
believe  not,"  not  supposing  that  he  was  speaking 
seriously.  But  as  I  glanced  over  at  him  he 
seemed  as  though  he  actually  supposed  I  might 
drink  that  beverage.  For  a  long  time  I  was  in 
doubt  as  to  whether  my  friend  was  serious  in  his 
question,  but,  chancing  to  meet  him  in  a  hotel,  in 
another  city,  dining  alone,  I  knew  through  my 
eyes  that  he  had  not  been  indulging  in  humor  in 
his  question. 

At  another  time  a  young  man  who  was  a  leader 
in  an  organization  for  aggressive  Christian  work 
offered  me  tickets  to  a  certain  performance  at 
the  popular  theatre  of  the  city,  commenting 
favorably  on  the  merits  of  the  performance.  In 
207 


2o8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

response  to  a  question,  he  said  he  had  found  it 
enjoyable  to  go  sometimes. 

I  remember  vividly  the  scene  one  Sabbath 
night  in  a  large  hall  in  a  city  in  Germany.  A 
very  large  audience  was  assembled,  including 
several  clergymen  sitting  upon  the  platform.  It 
was  a  union  meeting  of  the  churches  of  the  city. 
Beer  was  being  served  throughout  the  service. 
And  I  noted  the  dexterity  with  which  the  waiters 
could  handle  a  half-dozen  large  full  mugs,  make 
change,  and  glide  quietly  about,  without  disturb- 
ing the  service  by  noise.  I  remember,  too,  that 
when  one  of  the  speakers  gave  expression  to  a 
pleasing  sentiment  the  young  element  present 
began  to  applaud  by  hand -clapping,  but  were  in- 
stantly checked  by  a  storm  of  hisses,  that  ran  like 
a  sharp  breeze  over  the  hall.  Such  desecration 
of  the  Sabbath  day  clearly  was  not  permissible. 

One  Sabbath  morning  I  was  startled,  on  en- 
tering the  church  where  I  was  to  speak,  to  notice 
in  the  corner  of  each  pew  a  spittoon,  and  then  one 
in  the  pulpit.  These  articles  were  of  white  china, 
and  so  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  surroundings 
of  walnut  and  brown  furnishings.  The  color  of 
that  which  had  evidently  gone  into  the  spittoon 
was  in  such  keeping  with  the  general  color-scheme 
of  the  church  as  to  make  quite  clear  the  usage 
that  required  them. 

One  of  the  leading  speakers  at  a  Christian 
workers'  convention  was  inquiring  about  what 
train  he  could  get  after  the  service  Sabbath 
night.     He  was  a  very  busy  man,  lived  a  full 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  209 

night's  ride  away,  and  was  eager  to  be  at  his  desk 
Monday  morning.  Another  leader  present  in 
the  group  remarked  to  me  afterwards  that  he 
would  not  think  of  doing  such  a  thing  as  taking 
a  train  on  Sabbath  night.  Yet  I  knew  that  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  using  bottled  beer  on  the  score 
of  his  health. 

A  large  party  of  church  people  were  on  a  trip 
to  a  religious  gathering.  It  was  a  long  trip,  in- 
volving a  Sabbath  day  on  the  way.  The  special- 
train  schedule  was  arranged  so  as  to  stop  over 
for  that  day,  and  then  leave  at  a  few  minutes  past 
midnight  of  the  Sabbath  day.  In  a  chance  ex- 
change of  remarks  with  an  engineer  who  did  not 
know  me,  he  said,  with  a  leering  wink  of  the  eye: 
"These  church  folks  don't  travel  on  Sunday,  you 
know."  His  tone  and  manner  suggested  that 
he  did  not  think  much  of  the  sort  of  technical 
Sabbath  observance  that  required  him  and  his 
crew  to  use  part  of  their  Sabbath  day  in 
working. 

A  Southern  clergyman  visiting  his  brother  in 
the  North  was  to  attend  a  certain  church  service 
on  the  Sabbath  day.  It  was  some  distance  away, 
too  far  for  him  to  walk;  but  he  did  not  think  it 
right  to  use  the  street  cars  on  that  day,  and  so 
requested  his  brother  to  engage  a  carriage  for  his 
use.  The  brother  did  so.  Later  the  brother 
remarked  to  me  that  if  he  were  seen  on  the  street 
cars  on  the  Sabbath,  his  friends  would  know  that 
he  was  going  to  the  mission  he  attended  every 
Sabbath;  if  they  saw  him  in  a  carriage  driving 
14 


21  o  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

they  would  likely  suppose,  he  said,  that  he  was 
out  for  a  pleasure  jaunt. 

A  young  woman,  member  of  a  leading  church 
in  her  home  city,  teacher  in  the  Sabbath  School, 
and  faithful  in  attendance  at  the  Young  People's 
Meetings,  was  talking  with  a  friend  of  mine  about 
card-playing  and  dancing.  She  said  she  thought 
it  was  not  right  for  a  true  Christian  to  engage  in 
these  things,  but  when  she  was  out  in  social 
gatherings,  where  they  were  indulged,  she  would 
join  through  dislike  of  being  thought  peculiar. 

Questions  that  are  Not  Questions, 

These  incidents  suggest  at  once  the  principal 
things  that  are  being  regarded  to-day  as  ques- 
tionable things.  They  suggest,  too,  the  differ- 
ences of  opinion  held  regarding  them  by  Chris- 
tian people.  Wherever  Christian  circles  and 
worldly  circles  touch  and  overlap  and  interlace 
these  things  are  being  discussed.  It  is  very  strik- 
ing that  everywhere  they*  are  called  questionable. 
Though  if  a  thing  of  this  sort  be  questionable, 
surely  it  is  not  questionable.  If  some  one  seriously 
raises  a  question  about  some  such  matter  of  con- 
duct, there  is  surely  no  question  about  that  item 
for  the  man  who  would  touch  the  highest  levels, 
and  always  ring  true. 

Just  such  questions  of  propriety  and  of  con- 
science have  always  been  up  for  discussion.  Ever 
since  Jesus  was  on  earth  men  have  divided  them- 
selves into  two  great  groups  around  Him.  For 
those  who  have  stayed  close  to  Him  that  line  of 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  21 1 

division  is  usually  clear,  and  sharp,  and  easily 
seen.  For  those  who  travel  closer  to  the  line 
itself,  and  the  people  on  the  other  side,  it  has 
seemed  to  be  a  vague,  indistinct  line,  not  easily 
seen.  The  folks  on  the  other  side  of  it  seem  to 
be  raising  a  good  bit  of  dust  and  those  near  by 
are  bothered  in  their  seeing. 

Yet,  too,  let  it  be  said  that  for  many  an  earnest 
Christian  who  would  live  very  close  to  the  Master 
there  arise  just  such  questions  of  conduct  and  of 
conscience  that  seem  very  difficult  to  decide. 

The  settlement  of  them  is  a  matter  of  stand- 
point. A  simple  statement  of  the  Christian 
standpoint  helps  much  to  clear  away  the  haze 
and  fog.  It  has  been  said  in  a  former  talk  that 
the  Church  is  Jesus  Christ's  preacher  to  the  world. 
What  is  true  of  the  Church  is  true  of  its  members. 
Each  one  by  his  Hfe  is  Jesus  Christ's  preacher  to 
his  world.  Jesus  is  counting  on  us.  We  are  the 
ones  upon  whom  His  plan  for  the  world  depends, 
and  the  only  ones.  The  world  knows  Jesus 
through  His  followers.  It  knows  Him  only  as  it 
knows  His  followers. 

It  is  to  be  feared  that  some  of  us  are  preaching 
a  rather  scrappy  Gospel,  or  a  very  much  hidden 
Gospel.  But  whatever  each  follower  of  His  is 
in  his  life,  that  is  the  impression  of  Jesus  Christ 
which  his  circle  gets  so  far  as  he  is  concerned. 
Whatever  gives  a  wrong  or  weak  or  obscure  im- 
pression of  Jesus,  and  of  the  Hfe  He  'calls  us  to, 
clearly  belongs  outside  the  Chrisian  man's  life. 
Whatever  hides  Him  away  should  be  put  out. 


2 1  2  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

We  are  judged  by  our  attitude  towards  these 
questioned  things.  That  outside  congregation 
does  not  know  much  about  creeds.  It  doesn't 
know  much  about  Jesus  Christ.  It  does  lay 
great  stress  upon  conduct,  upon  what  a  man 
does.  It  judges  his  behef  by  what  he  does,  the 
way  he  Hves.  Could  there  be  a  keener  way  ?  or 
one  more  philosophical?  For  a  man  hterally 
believes  only  so  much  as  he  actually  makes  over 
into  life.  These  questioned  things  are  famihar 
to  these  folks.  They  are  not  questioned  out  in 
their  world,  but  freely  indulged.  They  seem  to 
think  a  Jesus-man  should  be  different  from  them- 
selves, in  the  sense  of  being  better,  being  guided 
and  held  under  the  strong  thumb  of  a  better  and 
higher  motive.  So  that  our  Christian  profession 
is  largely  judged  by  our  attitude  towards  such 
matters. 

Years  ago,  before  the  time  of  railroad  consoli- 
dation had  set  in,  a  certain  bit  of  railroad  whose 
main  line  was  about  two  hundred  miles  long,  was 
under  the  management  of  a  Christian  man.  He 
was  as  much  noted  in  church  circles  for  his  earn- 
est, faithful  spirit,  as  he  was  in  railroad  circles  for 
his  abihty  as  a  manager.  The  road  was  widely 
known  for  three  things:  its  good  service,  its  good 
dividends,  and  the  fact  that  there  were  no  Sunday 
trains.  An  annual  report  had  just  been  issued, 
and  the  directors  had  voted  the  usual  good-sized 
dividend.  Referring  to  it,  another  railroad  man- 
ager, in  conversation  with  a  group  of  business 
men,  remarked,  "Well,  those  blank  Christians 
know  how  to  run  a  railroad."     The  manager  of 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  213 

that  railroad  was  preaching  Christ  to  all  the  world 
by  his  simple  Sabbath  observance  rule. 

The  Sabbath  Question. 

The  question  of  Sunday  travel,  both  on  trains 
and  on  street  cars,  has  been  one  of  the  questioned 
things,  but  in  many  circles  seems  to  be  passing 
outside  the  line  of  question.  Some  who  would 
not  think  of  travelUng  on  a  train  on  the  Sabbath 
use  the  street  cars  freely  on  that  day,  though  the 
difference  is  difficult  to  see,  except  in  the  matter 
of  distance  and  time  involved.  Some  who  do  not 
commonly  travel  on  Sunday  trains  will  yet  take  a 
train  Sabbath  night  in  order  to  have  a  full  day 
for  business  at  the  journey's  end. 

In  the  ttrick  of  city  Hfe,  with  its  congested  pop- 
ulation, the  long  distances  involved,  the  home 
now  out  a  bit  may  be,  and  the  church  still  down 
where  it  used  to  be,  with  people  of  Hmited  means 
getting  accommodations  where  they  best  can, 
and  also,  be  it  said,  with  the  growing  disregard 
for  the  hallowed  things — in  the  city  it  is  very  dif- 
ficult to  get  along  without  using  the  street  cars. 
The  man  tr}ing  to  help  in  church  services  and 
at  missions  seems  practically  compelled  to  their 
use.  Yet  I  know  a  family  of  limited  means,  liv- 
ing in  a  large  city,  who,  on  remo\ing  the  home 
from  one  part  of  the  city  to  another  distant  part, 
changed  their  church  membership,  breaking  old 
ties  in  doing  so,  simply  to  avoid  the  Sunday  travel. 

I  know  a  Christian  man  whose  service  for  many 
years  has  called  him  to  travel  much  over  the 
country.     I  have  heard  him  say  that  in  twenty 


214  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

years  of  such  travel  he  has  never  taken  a  Sunday 
train,  except  once  in  the  beginning  of  his  travel, 
when  he  missed  a  connection  late  on  Saturday 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  place  of  appoint- 
ment for  the  next  day.  Yet,  he  said,  very  delib- 
erately, as  though  quite  clear  after  much  think- 
ing, that  the  work  of  that  day  led  him  to  question 
very  seriously  the  propriety  of  his  action.  And 
he  felt  that  his  influence  for  the  highest  standard 
of  the  Christian  hfe  had  been  lessened  in  that 
place,  which  was  a  boom  town  where  Christian 
standards  were  loosely  held. 

He  went  on  to  say  that  he  had  travelled  on  the 
Sabbath  a  few  other  times  in  cases  of  emergency, 
once  a  death  call,  andafew  times  taking  a  train  late 
Sabbath  night  to  reach  home  on  account  of  serious 
illness  there.  This  man's  matured  conviction 
is  that  practically  it  is  better  to  avoid  such  travel 
entirely  except  in  distinct  emergencies.  And  I 
have  grown  to  have  great  and  increasing  respect 
for  his  judgment.  His  habit  regarding  street- 
car use  on  that  day  is  to  avoid  using  them.  In 
making  appointments  he  has  this  in  mind.  Yet 
when  he  feels  led  to  an  appointment  necessitating 
a  longer  distance  than  he  thinks  it  wise  to  walk 
he  does  not  hesitate  to  use  them. 

The  consideration  regarding  Sunday  travel 
is  wholly  a  practical  one.  It  is  not  that  such 
travel  is  breaking  the  Sabbath  day  necessarily. 
Even  the  Jews,  the  greatest  sticklers  for  Sabbath 
observance  on  technical  grounds,  did  travel  on  the 
Sabbath ;  travelled  much  less,  but  did  travel,  as  the 
phrase  "a  Sabbath  day's  journey"  indicates.     But 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  2 1 5 

Sunday  travel  is  not  a  necessity,  though  in  our 
intense  civilization  it  has  come  to  be  so  regarded. 

The  chief  objection  to  it  is  that  thereby  men 
are  deprived  of  their  day  of  rest.  That  is  quite 
enough  of  an  objection  in  itself  to  decide  an  ear- 
nest man.  Every  man  has  a  right  to  the  rest-day. 
In  being  so  deprived  he  distinctly  suffers  both 
bodily  and  spiritually.  The  tone  of  his  life,  and 
of  his  home,  is  lowered.  But  there  is  a  second 
great  objection.  A  disregard  of  the  Sabbath  day 
is  apt  not  only  to  indicate  a  disregard  for  other 
hallowed  things,  but  to  breed  such  a  disregard. 
The  Sabbath  is  a  sort  of  safeguard.  Once  it  is 
broken  through,  other  breaks  are  apt  to  come  in  a 
man's  regard  for  holy  things. 

It  may  seem  very  radical  to  say  it,  yet  I  am 
more  and  more  compelled  to  believe  it  soberly 
true  that  the  common  Sunday  travel  and  trafhc, 
both  mail  and  freight,  are  not  a  necessity,  from 
any  standpoint,  with  the  usual  saving  clause 
about  exceptions  and  emergencies.  In  our  in- 
tense, aggressive  ci\ilization  it  seems  that  it  must 
be  a  necessity.  Yet  it  is  not.  It  could  all  be 
stopped,  and  our  national  life  be  both  stronger 
and  sweeter.  The  intense  drive  of  the  time, 
the  continual  railroad  accidents,  the  breakdowns 
from  overwork,  all  spell  out  in  biggest  capital 
letters  the  deep  philosophy  of  needed  rest  that 
underlies  the  old  Hebrew  commandment. 

Giving  Comjort  to  the  Enemy, 

Regarding  the  theatre,  it  can  be  said  that  with- 
out doubt  there  are  some  performances,  such  as 


2 1 6  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

historical  plays  and  others,  that  are  thoroughly 
enjoyable,  and  that  would  not  be  otherwise  than 
helpful.  But  clearly  these  are  the  exception. 
The  theatre  as  an  institution  is  not  good;  more, 
it  is  bad.  The  tone  of  its  performances  has 
been  steadily  lowering  to  cater  to  the  sensual 
appetites,  the  morbid  desire  for  the  sensational. 
Its  representation  of  life,  as  a  rule,  is  not  true,  nor 
good,  nor  well  balanced.  Then  it  can  be  added 
that  the  worst  features  of  sinful  Hf e  in  the  city  are 
constantly  fostered  and  intensified  by  the  theatre. 

A  man  might  choose  only  the  exceptional,  fine 
play,  and  refuse  all  others.  But  many  of  those 
in  his  circle  who  are  under  the  influence  of  his 
conduct  make  no  such  discrimination.  They 
are  younger,  it  may  be,  with  their  character  and 
convictions  just  in  process  of  being  formed.  The 
fact  that  this  man  goes  influences  their  going. 
The  chances  are  all  in  favor  of  their  choosing  the 
popular  play  of  the  hour,  or  the  one  that  happens 
to  strike  the  fancy.  The  chances  are  still  more 
in  favor  of  their  being  hurt  in  their  moral  lives, 
not  to  go  higher  and  say  Christian  lives. 

Cards  have  long  been  gamblers'  favorite  tools. 
It  may  not  be  that  the  playing  of  any  of  the 
numerous  card  games  has  necessarily  any  in- 
fluence upon  one's  thought  of  gambling.  But 
there  does  seem  practically  to  be  a  subtle,  sure 
connection  between  the  two.  There  is  an  itch 
about  cards;  a  contagious  itch.  The  chance  of 
winning  something  for  nothing  must  be  added 
to  give  zest  to  the  playing.  And  the  step  from  a 
trifling   something  to  something   of   real  value, 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  217 

and  then  of  great  value,  seems  to  be  a  ver)'  short 
one.  And  the  highly  colored  glamour  of  high 
society  casts  a  spell  over  all.  Gambling  itself  is 
not  questionable.  It  is  only  bad.  It  is  wrong 
in  principle,  of  course;  never  right.  It  would 
seem  the  only  wise  course  to  leave  gamblers* 
favorite  tools  to  themselves. 

The  word  dancing  seems  to  cover  a  great  variety 
of  physical  exercise  under  greatly  different  con- 
ditions. David  danced  before  the  Lord  to  ex- 
press his  joy  at  the  return  of  the  Ark.  The  old 
Scottish  dances  were  used  as  fine  means  of  de- 
velopment, but  were  strictly  guarded,  men  with 
men,  and  women  with  w^omen,  and  never  other- 
wise. What  is  called  the  modern  dance  seems 
to  have  ra'dically  altered  these  old  regulations. 

Many  of  the  common  usages  of  dancing  to-day 
put  it  quite  outside  the  line  for  the  modest, 
thoughtful  people.  Many  dancing  institutions 
and  centres  join  hands  with  the  theatres  in  fos- 
tering the  worst  impurity  lurking  in  city  life. 

But  what  about  private  dancing  in  one's  own 
home  with  a  chosen  circle?  Well,  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  question-mark  over  the  wiiolc  custom 
would  seem  to  answer  that  question.  What  is 
being  questioned  in  morals  w^ould  far  better  be 
left  alone.  And  with  this  goes  the  kindred  fact 
that  people  do  not  discriminate  keenly. 

PauVs  Advice. 

Paul  set  down  a  great  rule  about  the  appetites. 
There  w^ere  many  things  which  he  might  justify 
himself  in  doing,  but  he  said  he  would  not  be 


2 1 8  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

brought  under  the  power  of  anything.  What- 
ever habit  brings  me  under  its  power,  and  so 
lessens  my  own  power,  is  a  bad  habit  to  me.  The 
habit  of  good,  such  as  prayer,  or  doing  kindness, 
in  bringing  me  under  its  power  is  also  increasing 
my  own  power  of  self-mastery.  What  injures 
my  body  is  wrong  for  me. 

If  the  use  of  tobacco  or  alcoholic  drink  in  any 
shape  affects  the  action  of  the  heart,  or  lessens 
my  staying  powers,  or  unsteadies  my  nerves,  this 
clearly  to  me  is  wrong.  And  the  best  physicians, 
backed  abundantly  by  science,  and  by  constant 
illustrations  from  life,  have  spoken  very  posi- 
tively here.  In  the  light  of  what  specialists  say 
it  would  seem  that  any  indulgence  is  bad.  Sooner 
or  later  its  effect  will  be  felt  in  the  body  and  so 
in  the  life. 

With  the  conditions  of  life  prevalent  to-day 
there  is  no  question  at  all  regarding  strong  drink 
for  the  man  who  would  be  Jesus  Christ's  true 
preacher  to  men.  Total  abstinence  is  the  only 
safe  rule  for  a  sound  body,  a  clear  brain,  a  strong 
will,  and  for  the  influence  upon  the  great  crowd 
of  our  fellows  on  a  road  very  slippery  and  slant- 
ing. 

The  Church  of  Corinth  fairly  bristled  with 
questions  about  matters  of  conduct.  They  gave 
the  earnest  people  there  great  concern.  They 
concerned  Paul  very  greatly,  for  these  people 
were  his  spiritual  children,  whom  he  had  brought 
into  new  life  through  hard  travail.  These  people 
write  to  Paul  for  advice  and  help  in  the  per- 
plexity     The    first    nine    chapters    of   his    first 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  2 1 9 

epistle  to  the  Corinthians  are  largely  devoted  to 
these  matters.  Some  of  the  questions  raised 
were  about  abuses  concerning  which  there  was 
very  expKcit  command  from  God.  Regarding 
other  matters  there  was  no  such  command,  and 
so  Paul  is  ad\ising  them  as  in  his  judgment  is 
best.  And  he  feels  that  he  is  being  guided  in  his 
advice  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 

He  says  that  if  doing  something  causes  his 
brother  to  stumble  he  will  not  do  that  thing  while 
the  world  stands.  The  passion  of  service  burned 
that  into  his  heart.  The  love  for  the  Master  who 
had  sent  him  to  serve  was  yet  greater.  The  eager 
longing  to  win  men  up  to  the  highest  life  over- 
ruled all  his  own  tastes  and  preferences. 

His  controlling  principle  in  settling  all  such 
questions  was  love;  a  tender,  intensely  practical 
love  for  all  men.  Love  is  the  great  test  of  the 
Christian  life.  Knowledge  puffeth  up;  we  all 
know  that,  and  are  constantly  reminded  of  it. 
Love  buildeth  up.     We  need  more  of  that. 

Paul  says,  "All  things  are  lawful  forme,  but  all 
things  are  not  expedient."  It  is  not  wrong  to  do 
certain  things,  but  it  is  not  best.  It  is  not  a 
question  of  right  and  wrong  here.  That  test 
belongs  lower  down.  Up  here  it  is  a  matter  of 
doing  only  what  is  best,  and  rigidly  lea\ing  the 
rest.  Some  of  these  questioned  things  are  not 
necessarily  wrong,  but  they  clearly  are  not  best. 
And  if  we  judge  a  thing  to  be  wrong  then  it  is 
wrong  for  us,  for  we  are  doing  the  thing  we  think 
to  be  wrong.  The  hurt  to  the  character  is  as 
great  as  though  it  were  wrong. 


220  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

If  the  inner  Voice  has  said  to  me  not  to  do  a 
certain  thing,  and  I  do,  I  break  off  the  intimacy 
of  contact  with  the  One  who  is  wooing  me  into 
the  inner  intimacies  of  His  friendship.  I  become 
less  sensitive  to  His  voice.  The  next  time  I  will 
not  hear  so  easily  what  He  is  saying.  It  does 
not  affect  my  salvation,  of  course.  But  then, 
who  would  use  the  friendship  of  Jesus  as  a  con- 
venience or  as  insurance! 

If  witnessing  a  play  tends  to  make  me  get  used 
to  sin,  and  so  think  lightly  of  it,  or  to  make  im- 
purity less  repugnant  to  me,  or  to  loosen  to  any 
degree  my  hold  upon  the  highest  ideals  of  life, 
clearly  to  me  it  is  not  good,  and  so  it  is  positively 
bad. 

There  is  with  many  a  fear  of  being  thought 
peculiar.  Yet  one  of  the  fine,  distinguishing 
marks  of  Christ's  followers  is  that  they  are  a 
peculiar  people.  That  does  not  mean  peculiar 
in  an  offensive  sense,  in  criticising  all  who  differ 
with  us,  nor  in  setting  up  standards  for  others; 
not  pecuHar  in  oddity  of  habit  or  expression  of 
opinion;  but  peculiar  in  the  purity  of  the  life, 
the  lovableness  of  the  spirit,  the  sweet  charity 
of  forbearance  and  thoughtfulness  of  others,  in 
modesty  of  bearing,  and  in  the  earnest  willing- 
ness to  help  and  serve. 

But  these  questions  can  never  be  settled  satis- 
factorily by  a  negative  policy.  It  will  not  do 
merely  to  cut  things  off  from  without.  They 
must  be  pushed  of}  from  wifMn.  Jesus  said 
that  when  the  unclean  spirit  is  cast  out  of  a  man 
he  comes  back,  and  if  the  man  is  empty  within 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  221 

the  outcast  spirit  secures  the  co-operation  of  other 
spirits  and  re-enters  the  empty  house,  and  now 
holds  the  man  more  strongly  under  his  sway 
than  ever.  If  on  returning,  he  had  found  in  his 
old  place  the  gracious,  mighty  spirit  of  God  in 
possession,  he  would  quietly  have  slunk  away  to 
other  haunts. 

A  man  needs  a  great,  absorbing  passion  to  fill 
and  r;rip  and  control  his  being  and  Hfe.  There 
is  the  one  great  passion,  that  which  absorbed 
Jesus — love.  That  reaches  eagerly  up  to  Him- 
self ;  it  reaches  quickly  within  to  remove  what  He 
doesn't  like;  it  reaches  warmly  and  earnestly 
out  to  tell  others  of  Him.  This  love — Jesus 
Himself  enthroned  within — fills  one  so  satisfiedly 
that  things  not  congenial  are  crowded  out.  It 
lifts  one  up  to  such  a  level  that  small  things  are 
seen  in  their  smallness  and  so  their  hold  loosens. 
It  drives  one  wdth  such  intensity  out  into  ser\'ice 
for  men  that  whatever  hinders  is  stripped  quickly 
off  and  thrown  aside. 

Not  to  Judge  hut  to  Save. 

There  is  need  of  greatest  tact  in  expressing 
our  preferences  regarding  these  things  among 
those  who  practise  them.  There  has  been  in 
earlier  generations,  and  not  wholly  gone  yet,  a 
rigidity  of  practice  in  some  such  things  coupled 
with  lack  of  a  lo\ing,  earnest,  consistent  spirit. 
And  the  two  have  become  fixed  together  in  many 
minds.  Truth  has  always  suffered  at  the  hands 
of  some  defending  it. 

One  should  be  very  careful  not  to  express  him- 


222  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

self  in  such  a  way  as  to  seem  critical  of  another. 
The  keenest  criticism  of  wrong  is  a  consistent  life. 
We  are  not  sent  to  judge  the  world  but  to  save  it. 
We  are  not  sent  to  be  critics  of  our  neighbors. 
Each  man  is  to  be  fully  persuaded  in  his  own 
mind.  We  are  to  presume  that  the  other  one  has 
thought  for  himself  and  reached  a  conclusion; 
we  should  respect  his  opinions.  So  that  while 
as  occasion  needs  one  should  clearly  make  known 
his  own  thought  and  habit,  it  should  be  done 
with  the  tactful  deference  to  others  that  love 
inspires. 

I  glean  this  fine  bit  from  a  memorial  of  Dr. 
Maltbie  D.  Babcock,  that  rarely  sainted,  sane 
young  minister  who  so  moved  the  heart  of  New 
York  the  brief  year  he  preached  there :  ''  He  never 
hesitated  a  moment  over  questions  of  policy. 
Like  Paul  he  held  tenaciously  to  the  doctrine  of 
Christian  liberty.  But  he  had  more  delight  in 
waiving  his  use  of  that  liberty  than  in  exercising 
it,  if  his  use  of  it  might  in  any  way  interfere  with 
his  usefulness.  Knowing  so  well  his  native  dra- 
matic p®wer,  and  his  great  enjoyment  of  good 
comedy  and  tragedy,  I  asked  him  if  he  ever  went 
to  the  theatre.  'Never.'  Bearing  in  mind  his 
delight  in  the  best  music,  and  his  familiarity  with 
many  scores  of  celebrated  compositions  in  opera, 
oratorio,  and  orchestral  music,  I  said,  '  How  about 
the  opera?  Do  you  ever  go?'  'Never.'  Any- 
one who  knew  him  well  would  not  have  to  ask 
why.     I  knew  it  was  Paul's  reason. 

''But  Mr.  Trumbull,  in  the  Sunday  School 
TimeSj  after  Dr.  Babcock  left  us,  related  two 


Problem  of  Questioned  Things  223 

incidents  which  explained  and  illustrated  his 
reason,  which  I  here  quote.  'When  lunching 
one  day  with  some  business  men,  Dr.  Babcock 
was  offered  a  cigar,  and  a  hope  was  expressed 
that  he  would  join  the  others  in  a  social  smoke. 
Instantly  his  face  lighted  up  with  one  of  his  win- 
ning smiles,  and  he  said  to  the  speaker:  "Thank 
you  very  much  for  your  kindness.  But  you  know 
I  have  a  profession  that  means  more  to  me  than 
anything  else  in  the  world.  I  guard  it  very  jeal- 
ously. I  am  liable  to  be  called  out  at  any  time 
of  day  or  night,  in  the  service  of  my  prcfession, 
and  if  I  were  called  suddenly  to  the  bedside  of 
some  one  who  was  dying,  it  wouldn't  seem  just 
right,  would  it? — if  I  had  the  odor  of  tobacco  in 
my  clothes  and  on  my  breath.  So  you  will  pardon 
me,  won't  you,  if  I  don't  join  you  in  this?" 

"  'At  another  time  one  of  the  wealthier  members 
of  his  congregation  offered  him  the  use  of  his  box 
at  the  opera  through  the  season,  and  instantly 
this  reply  came:  "I  can't  thank  you  enough  for 
the  kindness  you  are  showing  me.  But  you  know 
how  a  surgeon  in  practising  his  profession  is 
not  only  obliged  to  keep  his  hands  and  linen  free 
from  dirt,  but  he  must  keep  himself  aseptically 
clean  as  well.  Now,  in  my  profession,  I  have  to 
be  even  more  careful  than  a  surgeon,  and  so  I 
must  be  careful  about  things  that  might  do  harm 
in  even  the  most  indirect  way.  You  will  under- 
stand, I  know,  why  I  cannot  accept  the  great 
kindness  you  are  offering  me,  though  I  do  thank 
you  for  it  from  the  bottom  of  my  heart." '  "  * 
* "  Maltbie  Davenport  Babcock. "  By  Chas.  E.  Robinson,  D.D. 


2  24  Quiet  Talks  on  Personal  Problems 

Here  was  the  exquisite  tact  of  a  perfect  gentle- 
man combined  with  the  highest  standard  of  con- 
duct. His  service  controlled  in  his  life  and  ac- 
tions. Here  is  a  great  simple  question  suggested 
that  goes  at  once  to  the  very  heart  of  this  whole 
matter  of  questioned  things :  Should  not  service 
— thought  for  others  whom  we  would  win  by  both 
direct  and  indirect  touch — control  every  one  of 
us  who  belongs  to  Jesus  Christ  ? 

The  Law  of  Love. 

There  is  a  very  simple  law  to  follow  here.  It 
is  Paul's  law.  He  got  it  from  the  Holy  Spirit. 
It  is  the  law  of  love.    It  speaks  thus : 

Whatever  dulls  the  sensitiveness  of  my  spirit 
towards  God,  or  takes  the  fine,  tender  edge  off  my 
thought  of  Him  must  be  ruled  out,  for  He  is  my 
Lord. 

Whatever  injures  or  weakens  my  body,  or 
affects  my  mastery  of  it,  must  be  ruled  out,  for  it 
is  the  temple  of  my  Lord. 

Whatever  affects  hurtfully  the  earnestness 
and  clearness  of  my  witness  to  Jesus  Christ  be- 
fore others  must  be  ruled  out,  for  it  was  His  part- 
ing wish  that  I  be  a  witness  for  Him  to  all  men. 

Whatever  lessens  in  any  way,  even  through 
prejudice  or  misunderstandings,  the  results  of  my 
service  must  be  ruled  out,  for  to  influence  men 
for  Him  is  to  be  the  passion  of  my  life. 

Whatever  may  cause  my  brother  to  stumble  in 
his  Christian  life  must  be  ruled  out,  for  that  would 
grieve  Jesus. 


on   Theological  Seminary-Speer  Lit 


1    1012  01005  4700 


